Drivers deal with winter weather on Hwy 140

 JACKSON COUNTY, Ore. — Road crews were out much of the day Tuesday making sure everyone got home safe. The quick change from rain to snow took some drivers by surprise.

“[My uncle] was like yeah, you’ll want to pick up chains,” said Trent Davis, who was traveling to Illinois Tuesday afternoon. “I was like, I don’t even know how to put those on!” While heading back home after visiting family in Cave Junction, Davis realized he was in for a snowy adventure. “[I’ve] never been stuck in snow like this, never had to put chains on, never had to do anything related to weather,” he said.

The snowy roads on Oregon 140, one of many on Jackson County’s to-do list, had drivers and truckers pulling over to chain up. “If you went up in elevation at all, those roads needed to have attention this morning,” said John Vial with Jackson County Roads, “so they were busy this morning plowing and sanding most of the roads in Jackson County. ”

Vial said county roads crews hit the ground running around 5 a.m. cleaning up for the morning commute. “We try to do the same thing in the afternoon to get people home safely,” said Vial, “and then in the evening hours our effort’s pretty limited.”

Even with crews on their a-game, Vial said the best thing to do is wait it out, something Davis might be a new advocate for.  “Don’t go on mountains, only do it if you have to,” Davis said. “I’m only doing this cause I have to.”

There are places that let you buy chains now and return them in the spring if you don’t use them. You can find a full tutorial on how to put them on by clicking here.

© 2024 KOBI-TV NBC5. All rights reserved unless otherwise stated.

Skip to content