In the north-metro Twin Cities, winter slide-offs and loss-of-control crashes cluster at the freeway merges and curves: the I-35W × I-694 cloverleaf in Roseville, the I-694 / I-35W junction in New Brighton, the I-35E / I-694 split in Little Canada, the Highway 36 ramps, and the Highway 96 lake curves through Shoreview and Arden Hills. Tight ramps, heavy merge volume and curves are where ice and snow turn routine driving into a ditch recovery.
The six highest-risk winter corridors
| Corridor / hotspot | Why it's high-risk in winter | If you go off |
|---|---|---|
| 1 · I-35W × I-694 cloverleaf (Roseville) | Tight curving ramps + one of the metro's heaviest merge volumes | Stay in vehicle; call recovery + winch-out |
| 2 · I-694 / I-35W junction (New Brighton) | Second freeway merge; multi-car spin-outs on ice | 911 if lanes blocked; then recovery |
| 3 · Highway 36 ramps (Roseville–Maplewood) | High-speed arterial with frequent on/off ramps | Hazards on; ditch winch-out |
| 4 · I-35E / I-694 split (Little Canada) | Diverging high-speed split; loss-of-control point | Stay buckled; call recovery |
| 5 · Highway 96 lake curves (Shoreview / Arden Hills) | Curving lakeside road; off-road slide-offs | Off-road extraction / winch-out |
| 6 · Snelling Avenue (Falcon Heights) | Busy arterial near the fairgrounds; intersection crashes | Move clear if safe; call a tow |
Why north-metro tow demand triples in winter
Minnesota winter is the demand engine behind every number on this map. Two waves stack on top of each other:
- Crash-driven calls. A single metro snow event routinely produces 100-plus crashes and dozens of spin-offs and ditch slide-offs across the freeways above.
- Cold-weather no-starts. Independent of crashes, cold snaps trigger a second wave of dead batteries, frozen fuel lines, lockouts and won't-starts — high-frequency, every-driveway calls.
For scale: Minneapolis snow emergencies alone tow roughly 1,100 vehicles each, running on the order of 80 trucks. Add the suburbs and the freeway recoveries, and north-metro tow and recovery demand roughly triples from November through March — which is exactly why response times stretch during active storms and why having a recovery number saved matters most in winter.
Don't spin the tires — it digs you in deeper. Stay buckled inside if traffic is moving, hazards on, and call dispatch with your exit or mile marker. Our step-by-step car-in-a-ditch winter guide walks through it.
Driving the north-metro corridors in snow
- Brake before the curve and the ramp, not on it — the cloverleaf ramps at 35W×694 and the 35E/694 split are where speed carries straight into the ditch.
- Leave a long gap on Highway 36 — high speeds plus frequent ramps make rear-end pile-ups the most common winter crash here.
- Ease through the Highway 96 lake curves — shaded, windswept stretches ice over first and stay icy longest.
- Know your exit number. The single biggest factor in a fast recovery is telling dispatch exactly where you are.
Stranded or in a ditch in the north metro?
24/7 winter recovery and winch-outs across the I-35W, I-694, I-35E, Hwy 36 and Hwy 96 corridors. Tell dispatch your exit — we'll roll the right truck.
Call (651) 465-8009Frequently asked questions
Where do most winter slide-offs happen in the north metro?
At the freeway merges and curves — the I-35W × I-694 cloverleaf, the I-694/I-35W junction, the I-35E/I-694 split, the Highway 36 ramps, and the Highway 96 lake curves. Tight ramps, heavy merge volume and curves are where ice causes loss-of-control crashes and ditch slide-offs.
Why does winter towing demand triple in the Twin Cities?
A single snow event produces 100-plus crashes, and Minneapolis snow emergencies alone tow ~1,100 vehicles each. A second wave of cold-weather no-starts stacks on top — so north-metro demand roughly triples November–March.
What should I do if I slide off a freeway in winter?
Stay buckled inside if traffic is moving, hazards on. Call 911 for injuries or a blocked lane, then call recovery with your exit or mile marker. Don't spin the tires — a winch-out pulls you out without further damage.
Methodology & sources
This map is a general risk guide, not a proprietary crash dataset. Hotspots reflect documented corridor traffic volumes and the winter crash and snow-emergency patterns reported by Minnesota news outlets and agencies — including metro snow-event crash counts and Minneapolis snow-emergency tow totals. Conditions vary by storm; drive to the conditions and obey posted closures. For an actual emergency, call 911.