Roads clear ahead of evening commute

Road crews were out treating mid-Missouri roads Thursday in an attempt to make them easier to travel on before the evening commute.

“Traffic seems like they’re doing pretty good,” said Missouri Department of Transportation engineer Richard Skelton, who works out of Columbia. “I’ve been out all morning on the interstate and in town in Columbia. It seems like roadways are starting to turn back to wet and drying out. So, they’re starting to get back to normal.”

A light dusting of snow was still on Columbia roads Thursday morning. Combined with temperatures well below freezing, the conditions made roads slippery in some spots.

Some intersections and curb sides had patches of ice, including some potholes, which had filled with water and frozen.

Columbia Public Works crews reported in at 7 a.m. Thursday morning to clear roads.

The Street Division day shift reported at 7 am to continue work on snow routes. Please continue to drive with caution. pic.twitter.com/bw1BgDjpQq

— Columbia Pub Works (@pub_works) January 31, 2019

The Missouri Department of Transportation traveler map showed state highways in mid-Missouri were clear late Thursday afternoon.

Crews have been using a sand and salt mix on the roads in an effort to conserve salt.

Temperatures should reach around the freezing mark by the evening on Thursday and are expected to climb into the 50s for highs this weekend.

Skelton said MoDOT will start patching potholes as the weather becomes warmer, and roads should be back to normal by Saturday evening.