Because it's sounding like downtown and surrounding areas are at gridlock right now - and it can't possibly be because of people heading to the Beanpot, can it?

Jaci reports:

Two lanes are trying to exit at Charles MGH off Storrow. Those two lanes are not moving.

Ashley Steriti adds:

Revere to Back Bay via car. 75 minutes and still in the tunnel. Can't even see the light of Storrow Drive yet

Patrick Marshall captured the moment when a car near the inbound end of Storrow Drive burst into flames, around 3:15 p.m.

A bus driver who decided, what the hell, and plowed right through one of those CARS ONLY signs discovered just in time that the BU Bridge inbound would not let him pass. Naturally, at rush hour, this was a bit less than optimal for all the drivers behind him. Or as Eddy S. tweeted at 6 p.m.:

Been in the same spot for about 15 mins under western ave bridge. If you can exit do it!

State Police report a truck storrowed on Storrow Drive outbound at the Longfellow Bridge and got wedged in real good around 3:30 p.m. All of its remains were hauled away by 4:20 p.m., however.

The Boston Courant reports state transportation officials are working on plans to stick both sides of Storrow Drive under a Longfellow Bridge arch, which would let Mass. Eye and Ear Infirmary expand one of its buildings and dig a new parking garage under the current Infirmary parking lot in exchange for giving up the parking lot for the new road alignment and new parkland (Ed. note: Link goes to a JPG image of the article, because the Courant remains one of the few newspapers in America to resist the Web).

Dia captured the remains of the car that caught fire around 1:45 p.m. on Storrow Drive near Charles Circle - after she watched the car burn. She reports the driver made it out OK.

Ric Duarte was among commuters who had plenty of time this morning to consider the impressive sardine-canning of a truck whose driver learned the Bowker Overpass is not meant for his ilk.

Antoinette Antonio reports the box truck is wedged in nice and tight, so it's going to take some work to get it out.

State Police report the driver suffered minor injuries.

Well, seems Secretary of Education Arne Duncan was in town today. And as befits somebody of his august position, naturally, he stayed at the Ritz and got a motorcade full of Escalades that, of course, got a full police escort and had Storrow Drive blocked at rush hour?

His public schedule.notes he and his entourage will do it all again tomorrow, starting at Harvard at 9 and then across the Charles back into Boston for an 11 a.m. grip-and-grin with Tom Menino and a bunch of college presidents at BU. River-road motorists take note.