After big C.O. snowfall, icy roads remain

The first big snowfall of the season caused chaos on Central Oregon’s roads on Tuesday — and the driving challenges are far from over.

“In a 24-hour period, we responded to about 110 crashes or slide-offs,” said Deschutes County sheriff’s Sgt. Nathan Garibay, the county’s emergency services manager.

And crews had a hard time keeping up, he noted Wednesday. “By the time we get one cleared up, another one would occur, and it would just cause a chain reaction of stalled vehicles and traffic jams along that route.”

Many drivers were stuck in traffic for hours south of Bend — and similar backups were reported south of Madras Wednesday evening due to a pair of spun-out semis, Oregon State Police reported. Track the latest at KTVZ’s TripCheck page.

As for Tuesday night, April Cosner wrote on NewsChannel 21’s Facebook page: “(It) took me 8 hours from Bend to La Pine.”

Tracie Finley Schuman wrote: “Over five hours to drive 17 miles! That road was treacherous!”

Road maintenance crews from the city, Deschutes County and the Oregon Department of Transportation said they were doing all they could.

“We were out there trying to get ready for it but the volume simply overwhelmed the system,” said Peter Murphy with ODOT.

Snow was in the forecast, but the sheer volume took many by surprise.

“We were expecting five to nine inches, and we were getting upwards of 12 to probably 15,” said Chris Doty, Deschutes County public works director.

ODOT crews were working around the clock.

“We were completely maxed out,” Murphy said. “We had all the crews we had out, doing what they could do.”

Heavy, wet snowfall combined with rush hour traffic created the perfect storm Tuesday evening, and officials with ODOT and the sheriff’s office asked drivers to stay put.

“We couldn’t get where we needed to be,” Murphy said. “The state police couldn’t get to where they needed to be and the tow trucks couldn’t get to where they needed to be. I mean, we had two jack-knifed trucks on the parkway. We couldn’t get to them. It took us two hours. “

On Wednesday the snowfall might have stopped, but the work for road crews continues.

“We’ll continue to plow as much as we can,” Doty said. “What we’ll do now is try to open up all the roads and put down sand for traction control.”

Even with de-icer, cinders and sand, road crews can only do so much.

“The packed snow and ice is going to be packed snow and ice for a while,” Murphy said.