Road conditions: what we know and what to expect
We will continue to update this story with the most recent information. For cancellations, email news@kmiz.com.
7:00 p.m.: According to the Missouri State Highway Patrol, since Friday, troopers have responded to 3,757 calls for service, 1,522 crashes that include 171 injuries and 6 deaths.
10:56 a.m.: COMO Connect Paratransit rides have been canceled for the remainder of the day.
8:40 a.m.: We just received an update from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. There have been 787 calls for service in the last 24 hours. As of now, there has been a total of 397 crashes. Included in those crashes are one fatality and 24 injuries.
MoDOT also sent a release saying that overnight, mist and rain continued to make the treatment of the roadways with chemicals challenging.
“Despite treating the roads Friday, lower than forecasted temperatures paired with wet conditions in advance of the temperature drop resulted in road conditions that greatly impeded traffic and made travel difficult through most of Missouri,” said MoDOT State Maintenance Engineer Becky Allmeroth. “MoDOT crews and law enforcement worked throughout the night repeatedly freeing cars and trucks stuck on slick, hilly locations.”
“Today, temperatures will plummet to arctic levels making travel very dangerous again. We expect flash freezing situations on Missouri highways starting early Saturday,” said Allmeroth. “Pavements will change from wet to ice in an instant, and our road treatment chemicals are not as affective in the extreme cold. Once temperatures drop below 20 degrees in your area today, motorists should strongly consider postponing travel.”
MoDOT’s highway digital message signs will be up and will inform motorists of closed sections of interstate.
7:32 a.m.: Public Works crews have completed treating about a quarter of subwards with another quarter mostly treated, according to a media release. Temperatures are currently at freezing and falling. Roads that have been treated will likely re-freeze as well since much of the salt will be mixed in with water.
There are some abandoned vehicles that will make treating roads in some locations difficult. The crews will pull out of subwards and re-treat priority routes at 7:00 a.m. Freezing drizzle is anticipated at 8:00 a.m. with dry snow following in the late afternoon.
Temperatures are forecast to fall to single digits by this evening. People should not park on priority routes and should avoid driving unless absolutely necessary.
6:45 a.m.: As of right now, the roads in Columbia are clear. However, the freezing temperatures are moving across Missouri from the East. The northern corridor of I-70 is already covered in ice. Avoid the roads unless absolutely necessary.
Lettered routes are still in extremely slick condition, but crews are actively trying to treat them. MoDOT is in the middle of a shift change, putting even more equipment on the roads than usual.
Closings will be updated throughout the day.
