You'll need patience if you are headed through the work zone on 694 between Hwy. 61 and 10th Street through Maplewood and Oakdale. Plan on 20 minutes in each direction.
West 94 is also busy. It's 20 minutes from 694/494 to downtown St. Paul, and 31 minutes if you are heading into downtown Minneapolis.
Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather.
tim.harlow@startribune.com612-673-7768