MEDFORD, Ore — The latest snowstorm has been keeping crews in the Rogue Valley busy, but concerns still persist despite conditions easing.
The snow early Tuesday, forced many schools across southern Oregon to close. John Vial, roads director with the city of Medford, shared that the roads were tough at the time.
“The roads froze up pretty good [Tuesday morning], they were pretty slick and we had snow falling on it,” Vial said. “We did see several crashes and saw people out there struggling a bit.”
The conditions didn’t help many on local roads. A driver escaped injury, after his semi-truck rolled over near the I-5 on-ramp in Talent.
It was closed off for cleanup. As of Tuesday evening, TripCheck alerted drivers to still prepare to slow down or move over for worker safety, but unclear if its reopen.
The snow heavily impacted higher elevations like Ashland. Crews have been kept busy clearing roadways throughout the day.
“We have four snow plow trucks and a crew of eight,” Mike Morrison, public works deputy director with City of Ashland, said. “We’ll keep those four trucks running as long as it takes to get every street plowed.”
Morrison’s crews are prioritizing clearing streets by the hospital and other busy areas. He asks residents on smaller side streets to be patient in the time being.
Despite snow mostly clearing up in some areas, the concern in the overnight hours are ice on roads and sidewalks. Both Vial and Morrison, want people to still remain cautious throughout the rest of the week.
“Right now the challenge is, we’re not exactly sure what mother nature is going to do,” Vial said. “We’ll have our sanders out, trying to make the surfaces as safe as possible. But people need to drive according to the road conditions.”
“Go slow, be careful especially around our plow trucks,” Morrison said. “They can throw off rocks and things like that so stay back if you can.”
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