This week brought a major storm to Oregon, and ODOT maintenance crews stepped up to respond. The storm dumped massive amounts of snow from the Coast to the Cascades and from Lane County north, tying up ODOT crews across large parts of the state. But with Southern Oregon spared the worst, crews and equipment from less impacted areas were redeployed to the hardest hit areas, providing critical surge capacity.

While many people wisely stayed off the roads during the storm, ODOT’s workers were out in force, laying down more than 300,000 gallons of deicer and 32,810 cubic yards of sand (enough to cover a football field 18.5 feet deep) and keeping the public informed through news releases, traffic alerts, Tweets, and real-time travel information posted continuously on TripCheck.com— which saw 2.5 million visitors in just four days.

Paul Mather, ODOT’s Highway Division Administrator, credited the successful response to being prepared. “With limited resources, widespread events like this always pose a big challenge. Effective preparation, coordination, and an unprecedented level of sharing resources made all the difference,” said Mather. He also credited the hard work of ODOT crews, who collectively put in a total of 8 years of extra labor. “From snow plow drivers to mechanics to dispatchers, our dedicated staff worked long hours to help keep the public safe,” said Mather.

But Mother Nature isn’t done with the state and its highways. On Wednesday evening, about 2,000 cubic yards of rock and debris—enough to fill 200 dump trucks—came crashing down on I-84 three miles west of Hood River, closing the eastbound lanes at least through the weekend. And heavy rains are bringing other rockslides, and flooding could affect some areas. As always, travelers should check TripCheck.com for the latest information before hitting the road.