KYTC District 9 Weather Response Update 11 AM: Crews Working to Clear Roads of Snow, Trees
Hazardous conditions; travel not advised
FLEMINGSBURG, Ky. (11 AM, Tuesday, Feb. 16, 2021) – In the last few hours, all roads have been reported as snow covered or icy farther east toward Ashland.
Many trees and power lines are down, making most roads impassable in Elliott, southern Rowan, Carter, and Boyd counties. Travel is hazardous, and not advised.
Salt truck, snow plow, and chainsaw crews are working in all counties to clear roadways. Some pavement is showing on I-64, and main routes, but all are slick. Air temperatures average 14-20 degrees, with pavement 24-30.
Here's a county-by-county look at conditions in northeast Kentucky:
- Bath County: All routes have been treated, routes remain mostly covered. All roads open, but avoid travel or travel with extreme caution. Air 19 degrees.
- Boyd County: Main routes I-64, KY 180 to US 60 to downtown Ashland, US 23, and Ohio River bridges open as crews concentrate on keeping them passable. All other routes impassable – blocked by downed trees and power lines. Widespread power outages. Air, pavement 24 degrees. Contractors now cutting trees on KY 538, KY 3291, KY 3294, KY 168.
- Carter County: Roads covered, with I-64 open, slow lane pretty fair. AA Highway passable, and KY 7 south of Grayson has trees down but is passable for emergency travel. All other routes impassable due to trees, lines down. Crews cutting trees, plowing and treating. Air 17 degrees. Contractors now cutting trees on US 60 from Grayson east to Boyd County.
- Elliott County: Roads covered, and KY 7 is passable. All Other routes assumed closed by downed trees, lines. Also, KY 173 is blocked near KY 556, but open from KY 556 towards Morehead. Air 18 degrees.
- Fleming County: Snowing. All routes have been plowed and treated overnight. Roads remain mostly to fully covered. All roads open, but avoid travel or travel with extreme caution. Air 16 degrees.
- Greenup County: Routes partly covered to mostly covered. All roads open except KY 1 blocked by trees and KY 1458 blocked by trees. Avoid travel or travel with extreme caution. Air 18 degrees.
- Lewis County: Routes partly covered to mostly covered. Recent snow light snow shower. Most routes are mostly covered. All roads open, but avoid travel or travel with extreme caution. Air 18 degrees.
- Mason County: Routes mostly to partly covered. All roads open, but avoid travel or travel with extreme caution. Air 14 degrees.
- Nicholas County: Snowing. All routes have been plowed and treated. Many routes have heavy snow or are ice packed. All roads open, but avoid travel or travel with extreme caution. Air 15 degrees.
- Rowan County: Crews working priority A routes. Slush freezing roadways. Currently snowing. I-64 passable, with snow cover. KY 1274 blocked in the Woods Road area. KY 1274 from KY 801 to Menifee County, one lane open. KY 1167 blocked with trees and power lines down. KY 3318 blocked with trees down. All other open routes have been plowed or treated during the night. Travel not advised, especially in southern Rowan. Air 17 degrees.
Motorists and residents should be aware that while crews in all counties will remain on 12-hour, rotating shifts clearing roads today, and through the week, the large amount of downed trees and additional snow will hamper efforts. And, low temperatures - particularly in the teens or single digits - will reduce salt effectiveness. While some roads will have pavement visible, all roads will not be clear today. Snow cover on roads could remain for several days.
Motorists are advised to stay off roads for their own safety and to avoid traveling.
ONLINE INFORMATION
For real-time traffic information, to view traffic cams, or to keep up with state snowfighters in your county, visit http://GoKY.ky.gov.
During winter storms, Kentucky Department of Highways snow plow crews work 12-hour shifts to keep highways passable using a priority route system based on traffic volume and connectivity to hospitals and other critical services. Crews focus first on high-priority routes such as interstates and critical roadways, then heavily traveled state routes before turning to lower-volume routes. Snow priority maps for each county can be viewed online at http://SnowKY.ky.gov.
Follow District 9 updates on Twitter and Facebook at http://twitter.com/KYTCDistrict9 or http://facebook.com/KYTCDistrict9.
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