High wind and winter weather advisories were issued early yesterday for the northeast corner of North Dakota, and public safety officials are hoping those messages were heard.
Sarah Arnston is a DOT spokesperson. She says I-29 from Grand Forks to Canadian border was closed to traffic early Friday afternoon due to rapidly deteriorating road conditions.
“…and it is coming with intermittent snow and the temperature is dropping quickly. And so, we are getting lots of sticky, icy roads. The snow has been sticking to the roads and its real tough visibility out there.”
Arnston says along with the closure of I-29, No Travel advisories have been posted for most of Pembina and Walsh counties and parts of Nelson County. She says for maintenance crews in those areas the afternoon has turned into an “all-hands-on-deck” situation…
“They’ve got all the available plows out on the roads right now. I-29 is closed in Canada as well. And that’s part of the reason they closed it north of Grand Forks – so all the truckers can get off the road in a place that has some amenities for them.
Arnston says the strong winds are expected to decline after sunset but due to the icy conditions, care will still be needed while driving.
For the latest road and weather conditions, call 511 or view the ND Roads map at travel.dot.nd.gov.
