Having a slow-go on your drive across downtown Baltimore recently? Well, you’re not alone.

Crews have closed off one of the lanes that drivers use to turn left from Lombard Street onto Light Street, one of the busiest intersections in downtown that thousands of vehicles use every day to reach South Baltimore or Interstate 95.

And across the clogged intersection, Lombard’s two left lanes are shut down to accommodate additional work where the road intersects with Charles Street, slowing down traffic heading west.

Workers there are reconstructing a manhole and expanding duct connections for the conduit system, a sprawling underground “subway for wires” that helps send electrical power and telecommunications services all over Baltimore.

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The work requires round-the-clock lane closures through December, according to Baltimore’s transportation department spokesperson Kathy Dominick.

Here are a couple ideas for making your commute a bit more reliable:

Plan ahead

Have an understanding boss and a flexible schedule? Traffic backups are the worst at peak travel times, so if you can move your schedule around to avoid driving at rush hour, do it.

Also, download an app like Google Maps or Waze that can help you find the fastest route in real time or even predict what traffic will be like at a given hour.

Go north before you go west or south

Instead of using Lombard, consider heading a little farther north to Fayette Street or Orleans Street (which then turns into West Franklin Street) to go west. From there, Howard and Greene streets, as well as Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, can get you to the major highways that lead south of the city.

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Lombard Street carries tens of thousands of vehicles on the typical weekday, according to state figures. Franklin Street handles slightly less, and Fayette even less than that.

Keep it east

Is better-flowing traffic worth $3 to you? Well then break out that EZ Pass, Baltimore.

Yes, the Interstate 895 and I-95 tunnels get packed at rush hours — especially since the collapse of the Key Bridge. But if you can move your schedule around to avoid the worst travel times (see above), then the tunnels will help you avoid downtown gridlock altogether.