LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Kentucky Transportation crews are continuing to work to treat and clear roadways affected by Friday’s snowfall.
The Gene Snyder Freeway may have been the most problematic for drivers.
Some were stuck on the interstate for nearly six hours trying to get home.
“I was shaking. I was so terrified. It was awful,” Jacob Raizor said.
Raizor and Eric Gray were on their way to the Reba McIntyre concert in Lexington on Friday when the thick, fast-falling snow started coming down on the Freeway.
“He said let’s make it to 64 and see if we want to turn around, and everything stopped. We were stuck,” Raizor said.
They said the scenes were unbelievable.
"We saw nothing by cars stopping and sliding. We saw cars would pass us a little bit and they would get stuck and you could see their tires just spinning, and you could see trucks pulling other trucks out of stuck positions."
Johnny Edelen had a similar experience.
"Cars, semis, vans just turned sideways, all on the road everywhere. Everybody's crashed, wrecked, off in the side in the ditch," he said.
Edelen said he's a trucker, so he's been stuck in long traffic before because of weather and accidents, but he was shocked because he says he didn't see any emergency crews.
"There's no telling who had babies in the car with them. Senior citizens maybe. There's just no telling what's going on – there might not be a single emergency response person on the scene is a joke,” he said.
Chief District Engineer Matt Bullock says despite days of preparations, the heavy traffic on the Gene Snyder cleared the salt and brine, and then more snow covered the ground and cars started to slide.
"It’s just one of those scenarios where we have an incident and we can't get to the area where we need to get the next round of materials down."
He said the heavy rush-hour traffic blocked the interstate, not allowing salt trucks to get where they needed to go to re-treat the highway.
Bullock says he knows the situation wasn't ideal.
"We appreciate people's patience and we know sometimes that Mother Nature has the winning hand," he said.
Whether the next event is another squall, or just a light dusting, Razoir knows one thing for sure.
"I won't be driving my car,” he said with laughter.
KYTC officials said motorists traveling Saturday night into Sunday should be alert to sudden slick spots and black ice on the roadways.
“Remember that salt has limited effectiveness on ice when it’s bitterly cold,” KYTC Secretary Jim Gray said. “The best advice is to limit travel and be vigilant when you must travel.”
► Contact reporter Bobbi McSwine at BMcSwine@whas11.com or on Facebook or Twitter
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