Bloomington sits on the north bluff of the Minnesota River, just south of Minneapolis and the airport, and four freeways frame it. I-494 runs along the northern edge as part of the beltway, connecting Eden Prairie and Edina with the airport and Eagan. I-35W cuts north-south through the middle of the city, crossing the river toward Burnsville. MN 77, Cedar Avenue, runs along the east side across the river toward Apple Valley, and US 169 follows the western boundary over the river toward Shakopee. MN 100 becomes Normandale Boulevard in the west, and American Boulevard parallels 494 through the office and hotel corridor.
I-494 is the city's main artery and its main headache. The interchanges at I-35W, MN 77 and France Avenue back up every weekday, and that's where many breakdowns happen. Off the freeway, the city is easy to get around: East Bloomington is laid out on a postwar grid connected to Minneapolis's streets, while West Bloomington has curving roads, hills and larger lots near the parks.
Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport is directly across 494 from the hotel district, and the Blue Line light rail connects the airport, downtown Minneapolis and the South Loop transit hub. The Red Line bus rapid transit runs down Cedar Avenue to Apple Valley, so plenty of hotel guests and workers here get around without a car while theirs is repaired.
Hotel guests make up a large share of the cars in the South Loop on any given day, and many have flown in and rented a car or driven up from out of state. That means a lot of unfamiliar cars in unfamiliar weather, and a quick on-site fix in the hotel ramp is often the difference between making a meeting and missing it.