The Twin Cities network is in better shape than it was before the pandemic, which makes the remaining problems easier to name. Here is what MnDOT's own data says, when each corridor peaks, and how to find the best time to leave for your route.
The tunnel that can never be widened
Where I-94 passes under Lowry Hill, it runs through a concrete structure MnDOT catalogues as Bridge 27832 — a rigid-frame design that was, in MnDOT's words, "an uncommon bridge type in the state at the time of construction."
MnDOT explains why it exists: the tunnel was "constructed in response to concerns regarding impacts to historic and cultural properties in the area. It was designed to allow Interstate 94 to pass beneath the properties and local streets."
The numbers are the hook. The tunnel is 1,497 feet long, opened in 1971, and was designed for 30,000 vehicles a day. It now carries roughly 175,000. It opened with two lanes each way; the shoulders were later converted into running lanes to cope, giving three each way. And it cannot be made wider, because it is boxed in by the footings of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral and Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church on one side and the Walker Art Center on the other.
There is also a geometry problem on top of the capacity one: the tunnel contains a sharp dog-leg turn with an advised speed of 35 mph. A permanent speed drop on the metro's busiest freeway means I-94 degrades earlier in the peak than parallel routes do — which is exactly what MnDOT's congestion measurement finds.
MnDOT's own verdict: I-94 is the worst, in both peaks
MnDOT measures congestion as traffic "flowing at speeds less than or equal to 45 miles per hour (mph)," across 229 interstate miles and 162 US and state highway miles of metro freeway, using an AM peak of 5:00–10:00 a.m. and a PM peak of 2:00–7:00 p.m.
Two findings worth planning around:
I-94 experienced the most congestion of any metro freeway during both peak periods in the 2025 reporting. Not one peak — both.
And the system-wide picture is genuinely better than it used to be. 20% of metro freeway directional miles were congested in 2025, against 24.4% in 2019. Delays have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. If your mental model of Twin Cities traffic was formed before 2020, it is pessimistic.
Minnesota's own crash data corroborates the shape of the day: the Department of Public Safety's 2023 Crash Facts puts crash peaks at 7–9 a.m. and 3–6 p.m., with 3–4 p.m. the single worst hour of the day.
When is Minneapolis traffic worst?
Use 6–10 a.m. inbound and 3–7 p.m. outbound as the practical window — that is when MnDOT runs its express lanes by direction. By corridor:
- I-94 and the Lowry Hill Tunnel — the east–west spine and, per MnDOT, the most congested metro freeway in both peaks. Three lanes each way through a tunnel built for a fraction of the traffic, with a 35 mph advised curve.
- I-35W and the Crosstown Commons — the south-metro trunk into downtown Minneapolis. The Commons was the mile where I-35W and MN 62 shared the same six lanes, forcing constant lane changes among the 200,000 drivers using it daily, until a $288 million rebuild separated the two traffic streams between 2007 and 2010 and widened it to 12 lanes at Lyndale Avenue.
- I-394 — a 9.75-mile spur from I-494 in Minnetonka into downtown. Between MN 100 and I-94 its two express lanes form a reversible roadway that physically flips direction: eastbound in the morning, westbound in the evening.
- MN 62, the Crosstown Highway — 18.6 miles across the southern tier from Eden Prairie to Inver Grove Heights, serving Edina, Richfield, south Minneapolis and Fort Snelling as the inner alternative to the beltway.
- The I-494 / I-694 beltway — I-494 forms the southern and western arc (42.94 miles), I-694 the northern. The worst point is eastbound I-494 at the I-35W interchange in the Bloomington–Richfield area, with further trouble at US 169 and MN 100.
- US 169 — the western metro's north–south freeway, crossing I-494 in Bloomington, I-394 near St. Louis Park and Golden Valley, and I-94/I-694 near Brooklyn Park.
Prefer a leave-by time to a set of windows? Put your arrival time into the departure time calculator and it will work out when to go.
The express lanes only exist during the peak
This is the Twin Cities quirk that most affects departure timing, and it is not about congestion at all — it is about how many lanes exist when you arrive.
MnDOT runs E-ZPass express lanes on four corridors: I-394 (Wayzata to Minneapolis, 11 miles, opened May 2005), I-35W South (Burnsville to Minneapolis, 16 miles), I-35E (St. Paul to White Bear Lake, 9 miles) and I-35W North (Roseville to Blaine, 10 miles, opened August 2021). All operate 6–10 a.m. and 3–7 p.m. by direction.
Outside those hours the lanes are open to everyone at no charge. On I-394 between MN 100 and I-94, the two lanes are a single barrier-separated reversible roadway that MnDOT runs eastbound from 6 a.m. and westbound from 2 p.m.
So leaving twenty minutes after the window closes does not just mean lighter traffic. It means a different road.
After a snowstorm, the freeway may be the fast option
Most winter driving advice says avoid the interstate. In Minnesota, MnDOT's own clearance targets suggest the opposite.
MnDOT publishes bare-lane regain targets of 0 to 3 hours for the state's most heavily travelled roadways and 9 to 36 hours for the least travelled secondary roads. The freeways get cleared first by design, and the suburban feeder streets can still be a problem a full day later.
The scale of the operation is worth knowing: in the 2025–26 season MnDOT recorded a statewide average of 19.8 winter events and 51.8 inches of snow, maintained 30,343 lane miles with more than 800 plow trucks and about 1,685 snowfighters, used 190,758 tons of salt, and spent $211.8 million — nearly double the previous season's $121.6 million.
Minnesota's 2023 crash data adds the risk side: ice or frost on the road surface was present in 6,270 crashes (9.7% of all crashes) and snow in 5,562 (8.6%), and "15 percent of fatal crashes occurred on wet, snowy or icy roads." The three highest crash months are December, January and November, together 33% of the year's crashes.
The practical takeaway for a leave-time decision: in a Twin Cities winter, the question is not only when to leave but whether the first and last mile of your route has been plowed yet. See how weather affects traffic.
Three Minneapolis-specific things that move the peak
- The tunnel is a fixed ceiling. Historic buildings on both sides mean I-94's Lowry Hill section cannot be widened, the shoulders have already been converted to lanes, and a 35 mph advised curve sits in the middle of it. That is why MnDOT finds I-94 worst in both peaks rather than one.
- The road changes shape at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. Four express-lane corridors open and close on a schedule, and one of them reverses direction. Your available capacity depends on the clock in a way it does not in most metros.
- I-35 splits around the two cities. I-35W runs north into Minneapolis and I-35E northeasterly into Saint Paul, rejoining near Columbus, Minnesota. AASHTO keeps the suffixes because, in its reasoning, neither branch is clearly the main route and both return to a unified interstate beyond the cities. For a commuter that means your "I-35" is one of two genuinely different roads.
Why your best time is route-specific
I-94 through the tunnel does not peak like I-494 at the 35W interchange, an inbound trip is not an outbound one, and a route with an express lane behaves differently at 9:50 a.m. than at 10:10. Citywide advice smooths over exactly the differences that decide your drive. Nationally, the worst day of the week varies by city too.
Driving the I-94 corridor southeast? See the best time to leave Chicago for the other end of that run.
Find the best time to leave for your Minneapolis route
Google Maps and Waze show live traffic and turn-by-turn once you are already on the road. BoardSpy is the leave-time app: it checks your saved Minneapolis route before you leave, recommends when to go, sends traffic and weather alerts, and tracks delay and on-time stats including your best and worst days. When you set off, it opens your map app for turn-by-turn. For how routing apps differ from departure-timing tools, see best app to avoid traffic and Google Maps commute alternatives.
Nearby cities
Every metro is listed on Best time to leave by city.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best time to leave to avoid traffic in Minneapolis?
Before 6:00 a.m. or after 10:00 a.m. in the morning, and outside 3:00–7:00 p.m. in the evening — those are the hours MnDOT runs its express lanes by direction, and they track the real peak better than the wider 5–10 a.m. and 2–7 p.m. windows MnDOT uses for measurement. If your route has an express lane, leaving just after the window closes changes the road itself, since the lane reopens to everyone free of charge.
When is Minneapolis rush hour?
MnDOT measures congestion using an AM peak of 5:00–10:00 a.m. and a PM peak of 2:00–7:00 p.m., defining congestion as traffic at 45 mph or below. Its express lanes run on the narrower 6–10 a.m. and 3–7 p.m. windows. Minnesota crash data puts the sharpest peaks at 7–9 a.m. and 3–6 p.m., with 3–4 p.m. the worst single hour.
What is the worst road in Minneapolis?
I-94. In MnDOT's 2025 congestion reporting, I-94 experienced the most congestion of any metro freeway during both the morning and evening peaks. The Lowry Hill Tunnel is the specific constraint — 1,497 feet of three-lane roadway with a 35 mph advised dog-leg curve, built for 30,000 vehicles a day and now carrying roughly 175,000.
Why can't the Lowry Hill Tunnel be widened?
Because of what sits on top of it. MnDOT built the tunnel so I-94 could pass beneath historic and cultural properties and local streets, and it is bounded by the footings of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral and Hennepin Avenue United Methodist Church on one side and the Walker Art Center on the other. The shoulders have already been converted into running lanes to add capacity, which leaves no further room inside the structure.
Is Minneapolis traffic worse than it was before the pandemic?
No. MnDOT reported 20% of metro freeway directional miles congested in 2025, against 24.4% in 2019. Delays have not returned to pre-pandemic levels, so a mental model formed before 2020 will overestimate current congestion — while understating how concentrated the remaining delay is on I-94.
How do I find the best time to leave for my Minneapolis commute?
Use a leave-time commute app that reads your actual route rather than only a live map. BoardSpy recommends when to leave for your Minneapolis route, sends pre-departure traffic and weather alerts, and tracks on-time performance and your best and worst traffic days. Download it here.