Road conditions remain dangerous in parts of Mississippi due to the lingering effects of Winter Storm Fern. Officials reiterated Wednesday morning that ice left behind by the storm has made safe transportation on two major interstates, along with multiple roads and bridges, virtually impossible at this time.
On Tuesday night, the Mississippi Department of Public Safety warned motorists on Interstate 55 north of Batesville and on Interstate 22 north of Lake Center near Holly Springs to turn around, as road crews were working to remove stranded vehicles from the roadways. These sections of the interstates have been shut down for the time being.
“These roadways are in extremely dangerous condition. Additionally, other state highways and county roads may also present similar conditions. Please only travel in north Mississippi if necessary and use extreme caution,” a release from DPS reads. “We are working diligently with our state and local agencies to assist stranded motorists and ensure the safety of everyone in the area.”
The Mississippi Department of Transportation reported Tuesday night that a trio of 18-wheelers stalled on I-55 near Como, causing a massive traffic backup. The backup was magnified, according to MDOT executive director Brad White, by motorists growing impatient and attempting to pass the semi-trucks on a road that was not safely navigable.
“We have tried to keep a lane of the interstates passable for emergency vehicles, and as we’ve pointed out, passable does not mean safe, and we’ve tried to urge people to stay off the roads if there was any way to avoid them,” White said on Wednesday morning. “Unfortunately, we’ve had situations…where some of the (18-wheeler) drivers would stop on the interstate to get out and get on their truck, and when they would get back in, they were unable to regain traction.
“We had one situation where one trucker unhooked from his trailer and left it on the interstate. Of course, when those situations happen, other motorists behind them begin to get impatient and try to go around them, getting into more ice, which causes more accidents.”
White said, as of Wednesday morning, motorists are still stuck in some areas with wait times being hours.
He added that ice is still prevalent in 28 counties, mostly in north Mississippi and parts of the Delta region, urging people not to drive unless absolutely necessary. While officials are working to clear the roads, the only immediate solution is to wait for temperatures to rise.
“Unfortunately, you cannot plow ice,” White explained. “When you think of pavement, you picture a sponge or coral reef. It’s designed for water to go below the surface and drain out to the side, so when ice sets up in it and gets packed in, it becomes very much of an immovable obstacle for our folks to deal with. The only way to deal with it is sunlight or warmer temperatures.”
The impacted areas are forecast to see windows of above-freezing temperatures over the next few days before another cold front hits this weekend. During those windows, MDOT crews will be releasing chemicals used to expedite the melting process on major roads and really anything they can to help with traffic flow, White said.
“We knew that we were going to have a three-day window where there would be pockets of time where we would be able to have temperatures get to a place, the sun shining to a place, where we could break through and get the ice transformed into this slushy material,” he said. “We’re going to try some unconventional things. Contractors will be bringing in milling machines that are used in the paving process to see if that could help break up some of the ice.”