It happened again. If you were trying to get through the Bloomington or Eden Prairie stretch of the Twin Cities metro this morning, you already know the feeling of hitting a wall of brake lights. There was a fatal accident on 494 today that turned a standard commute into a nightmare for thousands of drivers, but more importantly, it left a family dealing with a tragedy that no one expects when they turn the ignition key in the morning.
Traffic is heavy. Honestly, "heavy" doesn't even cover it. When a crash involves a fatality, the scene doesn't just clear in twenty minutes because the Minnesota State Patrol has to treat the area like a forensic site. They’ve got to reconstruct the physics of the impact.
The Reality of the Fatal Accident on 494 Today
Early reports from the Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) and State Patrol scanners indicate the incident occurred during the peak of the rush hour shuffle. It’s that dangerous mix of high speeds and sudden congestion that usually leads to these outcomes. Usually, it's a chain reaction. Someone taps their brakes, the person behind them isn't looking at the road—maybe they're checking a notification—and suddenly several tons of steel are moving in ways they weren't designed to move.
The stretch of I-494 near Highway 100 and the 35W interchange is notorious for this. It’s a bottleneck. You’ve got people merging from the left, people diving for exits on the right, and a whole lot of drivers just trying to maintain 60 mph while the road design feels like it was made for half that volume.
The State Patrol hasn't released the names of the deceased yet. They don't do that until the family is notified, which is the right way to handle it. But we do know that the lanes remained closed for several hours, causing a ripple effect that jammed up side roads like American Boulevard and 78th Street. If you tried to bail off the highway to save time, you probably found yourself stuck at a light for three cycles.
Why This Specific Stretch of I-494 Is So Dangerous
We talk about these accidents like they're random, but there’s a pattern here. The "494 loop" is one of the most traveled corridors in the entire Midwest, let alone Minnesota. According to MnDOT traffic volume data, certain segments of this road handle over 150,000 vehicles per day. That is a staggering amount of human error potential packed into a few miles of asphalt.
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Sun glare is a massive factor this time of year. If the fatal accident on 494 today happened during the morning eastbound trek or the evening westbound run, you’re basically driving into a blinding white light. It’s easy to miss a brake light when the sun is reflecting off the hood of the car in front of you.
Then there's the infrastructure. While the "494 Project" has been aiming to improve the 494/35W interchange, construction zones bring their own set of risks. Narrower lanes. Concrete barriers that leave zero room for error. If you swerve to avoid a distracted driver in a construction zone, you're hitting a wall. There is no shoulder to save you.
Emergency Response and Investigation Nuances
When the State Patrol arrives at a fatal crash, they don't just tow the cars and sweep the glass. They use high-tech equipment like 3D laser scanners to map the debris field. This is why the road stays closed for four, five, or six hours.
- Accident Reconstruction: Specialists look at skid marks to determine braking speed.
- Mechanical Inspections: They check if a blown tire or brake failure contributed to the mess.
- Electronic Data Recorders: Most modern cars have "black boxes" that tell investigators exactly how fast the car was going and if the driver was wearing a seatbelt.
It’s a grim process. But it’s necessary for insurance and for the legal system to provide some semblance of closure to the victims.
How to Navigate the 494 Mess Right Now
If you are still trying to move through the south metro, stop trying to use 494. Just don't. Even when the lanes officially "open," the residual "accordion" traffic—where everyone speeds up and then slams on their brakes—lasts for hours.
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Basically, you’ve got a few options:
- The Highway 62 (Crosstown) Alternative: It’s usually packed, but it moves better than a closed interstate.
- The East-West Surface Arterials: Depending on how far south you are, taking 110 or even heading further south to 13 might be your best bet to bypass the Bloomington corridor entirely.
- Patience: If you're already in it, darting between lanes won't save you more than 90 seconds. It just increases the chance of another accident.
Real Talk on Highway Safety in the Twin Cities
We have a distracted driving problem. We all see it. You look over at the person in the lane next to you and their chin is tucked to their chest while they’re going 65. It takes about 4.6 seconds to read a text. At highway speeds, that’s like driving the length of a football field blindfolded.
The fatal accident on 494 today serves as a violent reminder that the "routine" of driving is actually the most dangerous thing most of us do every single day. We get comfortable. We get bored. Then something goes wrong.
Actionable Steps for Drivers Moving Forward
Instead of just reading the news and feeling bad, there are actual things you can do to avoid being part of the next headline on this stretch of road.
Check the MnDOT 511 App Before You Leave. Don't wait until you see the orange signs. This app gives you real-time camera feeds. If you see a sea of red on 494, change your route before you pull out of the driveway.
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Increase Your Following Distance. The "two-second rule" is for perfect conditions. On I-494, where people are aggressive and the road is often slick or under construction, you need four seconds. If the car in front of you passes a sign, count "one-thousand-one, one-thousand-two, one-thousand-three, one-thousand-four." If you pass that sign before you finish counting, you're too close. Simple as that.
Understand the "Move Over" Law. Minnesota law requires you to move over a lane for emergency vehicles, including tow trucks and service vehicles. If you see flashing lights on the shoulder of 494, get over. If you can't get over, slow down significantly. People die every year because someone didn't give a trooper or a medic enough room to work.
Update Your Emergency Kit. If you get stuck behind a fatal accident investigation, you could be sitting there for hours. Make sure you have water, a portable phone charger, and a blanket in your trunk. It sounds overkill until you’re the one stuck in a three-mile standstill in January.
Driving is a shared responsibility. When one of us doesn't make it home, it affects the whole community. Stay alert, put the phone in the center console, and give yourself a few extra minutes so you aren't tempted to drive like a maniac to make a meeting.