Icy storm may mean hazardous roads this weekend

Icy weekend storm may bring hazardous

road conditions Saturday and Sunday

Jan. 6, 2017

Contact

Don Hamilton, 503-704-7452

Dave Thompson, 503-860-8021

Forecasters expect snow and icy roads in Western Oregon Saturday and Sunday that may bring extremely hazardous travel conditions.

The Columbia River Gorge may be hit particularly hard by snow, ice and high winds. ODOT will close Interstate 84 east of Troutdale if road conditions are unsafe and will keep it closed until it’s safe again for traffic. Such closures in the past have lasted for several days.

The storm appears headed for the area on Saturday, not during the working week, which may make it easier for people to stay home and wait out the storm.

Here are some tips to managing an icy storm.

• Get yourself safely situated before the storm hits. The best recipe for massive gridlock is when everyone decides to hit the road after a storm hits. It’s much less stressful to chill at home.
• No one can safely drive on ice. If ice forms, better to stay off the roads altogether.
• Be ready for power outages. Ice storms can bring down trees and power lines so make sure you have candles, food and batteries.
• ODOT cannot work to clear roads that are clogged with traffic. The more traffic stays off the road, the quicker roads can be cleared.
• Look out for each other. Slow down, allow plenty of stopping distance and watch out for pedestrians and bicyclists because stopping distances are so much longer.

In recent days, ODOT has been pre-treating area roads with deicer – magnesium chloride with rust inhibitor – in anticipation of the storm. ODOT will deploy as appropriate all available tools in its winter arsenal, including plows, sand, salt and deicer.

The snow and ice are expected to give way to rain by Sunday evening.

The Gorge may experience an extended ice event, however. Please check www.TripCheck.com for the latest road conditions before you head out.

##ODOT##