Update 3:30 pm
Road crews are hard at work to clear as much snow and ice from area Interstate 24 and other area highways before dusk, when cold temperatures pose a chance for potential re-freezing.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesman Keith Todd says crews are confident to have both directions of I-24 mostly clear by tonight.
“Our crews are out working really hard today, we had a section from the 30 to the 50 that was down to one lane and had the other lane pretty well ice-covered," said Todd. "We have salted it pretty heavily today, and they’re out plowing the ice of it now, so we’re hoping to have all the lanes open through Kentucky here in the next hour or two.”
Todd says the progress isn’t without issues; there’s an injury collision near mm 46 that blocked traffic and one of the contracted snow plows caught fire near mm 58 shortly before 3 o’clock.
Todd says the Western and Pennyrile Parkways have been cleared and that many counties were able to work on C routes today with the help of warm sunshine. He says road crews will keep working until around 9 o’clock tonight and then start again in the morning.
KYTC has also reopen the US45 Brookport Bridge over the Ohio River at Paducah.
Update 12:30pm
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet spokesman Keith Todd drove along the troubled Interstate 24 this morning with road crews.
“We came eastbound from Paducah down to Cadiz, the eastbound traffic was moving at that time but we had a section around exit 31, the Grand Rivers/Smithland exit down to the 50 mile marker where there’s a lot of ice on one lane or the other,” said Todd. “There’s one lane traffic through there and traffic is moving at about maybe 15 to 30 miles an hour. We now have several salt trucks assigned to that area.”
But Todd says traffic accidents continue to be one of the bigger obstacles for road crews moving swiftly throughout the area, including at least 20 semi parked along the shoulder. The National Guard has been called to use wreckers to move the trucks obstructing road crews.
“As we get traffic cleared out, if everybody would stay slow and take it easy we can keep traffic moving but all it takes is one or two people to get in a hurry and crash then we get a back-up and have to find a way to get it reopened," said Todd. "It’s continued to be that kind of process pretty much all morning long.”
The Western Kentucky and Pennyrile Parkways are seeing mostly clear conditions. Todd says crews have been more successful at salting and treating those roads and at least some of the lanes are down to pavement.
“We’re getting a lot of help from the sunshine even though the temperatures are still cold,” said Todd. “The sunshine really heats up the pavement and that helps to activate the salt so we’re getting some help there. We’re going to try to hit it really hard, but we figure that about 4 or 5 o’clock this afternoon the temperature is going to start going the other way and we’re not really going to make much progress tonight so our guys are really trying to hit it hard to get as much done as we can."
Todd says crews are working steadily now to get as much roadway clear before dusk when temperatures drop down below freezing and pose a risk for potential re-freezing. Temperatures are expected to warm up tomorrow.
We'll have more on traffic and road conditions later this afternoon.
Update: 8:23 A.M.
KYTC Spokesman Keith Todd says eastbound traffic has improved slightly as the sun rises. Westbound traffic remains clogged, and the KYTC strongly advises motorists to detour if traveling. Efforts to assist stranded motorists continue.
Original Story:
Sub-freezing temperatures and a series of overnight traffic accidents have once again backed up a section of I-24. Eastbound traffic is moving slowly and sporadically, but westbound traffic is stalled. One lane is open on a section of the road through Trigg, Caldwell and Lyon counties. The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is urging motorists to stay off the roadway.
Some stranded drivers report they’re running out of gas.
Keith Todd is spokesman for the Cabinet. He says KYTC, Kentucky State Police and National Guard personnel are moving to wake up truck drivers who remained on the road overnight.
There were several crashes yesterday evening that caused traffic to back up about 15 miles in either direction.
Most issues are between the 30-mile marker near Grand Rivers and the 70-mile marker near the Gracey Newstead Exit in Christian County.
“Many of the truckers that were on this section apparently decided since they weren’t moving, that they would spend the night,” Todd said. “So now our plows and other vehicles are having to pick their way through sort of a maze of stopped and parked vehicles along I-24.”
Todd says those crews are also trying to find and assist those drivers running low on gas; with temperatures this low, safety becomes a major concern.
"We are getting to a point with the extreme cold temperatures that there is a potential life-threatening situation," Todd said.
The cold also minimizes the effectiveness of salt and ice-fighting chemicals. Those tools won't work below about 18 degrees, making road clearing that much more difficult.
“When you’ve got traffic backed up for 10 or 15 miles in each direction, it’s sometimes very hard to find one specific vehicle,” Todd said. “If they’re stuck in traffic and not moving and they don’t know their exact mile point, it can sometimes be very hard.”
Todd says he’s not sure when crews can get traffic flowing smoothly again, but he’s hopeful today’s sunshine can make an impact. In a release, he recommends the following detours for drivers needing to travel the road:
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet is recommending a self-detour to avoid a persistent traffic snarl on Interstate 24 between about the 70 mile marker and the 30 mile marker. If you are attempting to travel I-24 eastbound toward Nashville between Paducah and Cadiz we highly recommend that you self-detour via I-69 Northbound to the Pennyrile Parkway southbound. If you are westbound on I-24 we highly recommend you self-detour via the Pennyrile Parkway northbound to I-69 southbound. This will get you around the snarled section of I-24 between the 42 mile marker and the 65 mile marker. This will add about 30 miles or 30 minutes of travel while avoiding blockages on I-24.
