Icy roads close 509-J schools; semis crash in fog

(Update: Hwy. 97 partially reopens after semi crashes north of Madras)

Another bout of freezing rain early Friday made for more icy roads, especially in Jefferson County, where classes at first were delayed for two hours then canceled. To the north, dense fog and icy roads led to several semi crashes that shut Highway 97.

Culver schools also called the delay and said its buses were on snow routes due to the icy conditions.

Meanwhile, Highway 97 was closed much of the morning a mile north of the Highway 197 intersection north of Madras due to several jackknifed semi-trucks in foggy, icy and dangerous driving conditions, ODOT reported.

The highway was reopened to one lane by 11:30 a.m., with traffic flagged in alternate directions. Earlier, the agency said an extended closure was expected due to the number of vehicles involved. ODOT advised drivers to avoid the area until the weather improves, if possible, or make other travel plans.

Later Friday morning, three of Highway 97’s four lanes were closed for a time 10 miles north of Terrebonne due to a crash in very foggy conditions.

NewsChannel 21’s Michaela Beechem said the showers of freezing rain were falling in the northern areas of the High Desert, though the Bend-Redmond area also had slick spots due to scattered rain showers and below-freezing temperatures.

There was still some patchy fog in the region Friday morning, but not as dense as the frozen fog seen earlier in the week. Temperatures finally climbed into the 40s in some areas as a warm front brought a chance of rain showers.

Check road conditions on our ODOT TripCheck page.