Transportation

Lowry tunnel crash in Minneapolis snarls morning commute

Updated: 10 a.m.

A tractor-trailer crash dumped tons of gypsum drywall into the roadway in the Lowry Hill Tunnel Wednesday morning, backing up traffic for miles.

The Minnesota State Patrol said the truck tipped over on eastbound Interstate 94 at about 8 a.m., leaving the Sheetrock laying in the two western lanes of the three-lane tunnel under Hennepin and Lyndale avenues. There were no reports of injuries.

The backup also prompted the Minnesota Department of Transportation to close the ramp from eastbound Interstate 394 to eastbound I-94, which merges just before the tunnel’s north entrance.

After saying the cleanup would take “an extended period of time” the State Patrol announced the tunnel reopened around 9.30 a.m.