Wrecks on Arkansas’ snow-covered roads lead to traffic jams on the interstates

Updated: January 9, 2025, 3:09 p.m. CST

COVER. AS THE SNOW MOVES ACROSS THE AREA, WE HAVE BEEN BRINGING YOU UPDATES THROUGHOUT THE DAY. >> So let’s go ahead and take a live look out there. We know this snow has been falling in the River Valley since early this afternoon. YOU CAN SEE THE IMPACT THERE ON THIS LIVE VIEW OF I-40 IN ALMA. RIGHT NOW we know that a stalled vehicle on the I-49 exit ramp is responsible for this slowdown. WE ALSO SEE ANOTHER BACKUP IN THE EASTERN LANES OF I-40 IN VAN BUREN. ANOTHER LIVE VIEW THERE. ARDOT REPORTS THE CRASH CAUSED THIS SCENE AND WE’RE LOOKING AT I-49 LIVE. >> THIS IS IN FAYETTEVILLE. The snow is already piling up on the highway. SOME CARS ARE ON THE ROADS THERE. But as officials have said, they are asking you to stay home if you can. WE HAVE SEEN THE SNOW CONDITIONS HAVE WORSE ALONG THE INTERSTATE, BUT WE’RE TALKING ABOUT THE RURAL AND UNMOVING ROADS IN OUR AREA WHERE IT COULD BE THE WORST. >> IN WASHINGTON COUNTY. Officials say they hope to complete road clearing in our area within 72 hours. BUT unpaved roads always present a challenge. >> IT’S AN ART AND A SCIENCE WHEN WE HAVE WEATHER LIKE THIS. And so what I would say is, folks on dirt roads, please be patient with us. We will be there when we can, and there will be more snow in the more northern cities in our area. >> THIS IS A LIVE LOOK OF BELLA VISTA. WE HAVE SEEN THE SYSTEM CONSTANTLY PUTTING SNOW Further North THROUGHOUT THE AFTERNOON AND TEAMS HAVE BEEN PRE-TREATING THE ROADS ALL WEEK. IT’S A LUXURY. >> IT’S A LUXURY ARDOT crews don’t always get away with. In storms like this. >> We had a dry week, which is great because the pretreatment wears off and sticks. IT WILL NOT WASH AWAY. >> AND NOW TIME TO CHECK YOUR WEATHER AND TRAFFIC. >> CHIEF METEOROLOGIST DARBY BYBEE TRACKS EVERYTHING FOR US. WITH THE CURRENT TERMS. >> THAT’S CORRECT. >> And I want to start by taking a look at the current traffic. So let’s take a look here. NOW SNOW IS FLYING AS YOU COME CLOSER TO THE MISSOURI BORDER. This is I-49. Apparently this isn’t too much of a problem here. AND DRAKE, OUR NEW METEOROLOGIST HERE AT 40/29, WILL PREVIEW AND TAKE US FROM NORTH TO SOUTH HERE. So here we move south from this area. NOW WE’RE IN CENTERTON. It’s not as much to see as it is. It needed to be updated and that happens sometimes. MUST UPDATE THIS. LET’S GO CONTINUE SOUTH. This is at the CENTERTON exit on I-49. AND THIS WILL ALSO BE UPDATED HERE IN A SECOND. I think it’s at NWAC or Northwest Arkansas Community College or no. It’s just a little ways north of there at mile marker 86. And unfortunately that can’t be updated. Then let’s move further south. This is a bit more current. This is in Rogers. THE SNOW IS SAFELY FLYING THERE. LET’S MOVE FURTHER SOUTH FROM HERE. And here we are with Johnson. AND YOU CAN ALREADY SEE SNOW ACCUMULATION ON THE GROUND. THIS UPDATE WILL LOOK A LITTLE WIDER. NOW YOU CAN SEE THE SNOW BUILDING UP THERE. Even if it is a bit interstate in nature. LOOKS REALLY GOOD HERE. At least in northwest Arkansas. JOHNSTON NORTH. Let’s continue south here on the interstate. JUST WET INTERSTATES. The pretreatment they did obviously worked very well. That’s nice to see. THIS IS ON THE FULBRIGHT EXPRESSWAY IN FAYETTEVILLE. LET’S GO CONTINUE SOUTH. AND THAT APPLIES TO THIS UPDATE UNTIL THE TUNNEL. Apparently more snow is already accumulating here. As we drive south. YOU WILL SEE MORE SNOW. LET’S GO FURTHER SOUTH HERE INTO THE RIVER VALLEY WHERE WE HAVE AN ACCIDENT ON I-40. AND WE WILL HAVE THESE ACCIDENTS HERE, PEOPLE. And when we get these accidents, that means there’s just a lot of people sitting on the highway now. THIS ROAD IS NO LONGER TREATED. The plows can’t get there. People get stuck even more. In the end, more accidents occur. It’s miserable. IT IS AND DANGEROUS. All right, if you don’t want to get stuck in that well, you know exactly what to do. DON’T DO NOTHING, I GUESS NOT. LET’S GO CONTINUE SOUTH. AND YOU CAN SEE HERE AT I-540 THAT THIS IS A DIFFERENT one. Another accident here on the south end of Fort Smith. So we distributed them all over the area. Let’s take a look at satellite radar. THIS HAS ARRIVED. It came in the river valley. Really heavy when it got into northwest Arkansas. A LITTLE LIGHTER BUT STILL AT A MODERATE CLIP. AND YOU CAN SEE THE SNOW THAT IS STILL PUSHING THROUGH. AND IT EXTENDS TO CENTRAL TEXAS. There’s still a LOT OF MOISTURE COMING THROUGH HERE, folks. AND IT WILL CONTINUE TO GO THROUGH AS WE WALK THROUGH THE NIGHT INTO TOMORROW. AND THE heaviest snowfall is expected to occur late after 10pm this evening until around 5 or 6am. THESE ARE THE WORST TIMES TO TRAVEL TO THE REGION. WE HAVE THIS NOW. WE HAVE MORE UPDATES. First, let’s go back to ALLISON. KYRA AND STAY UP TO DATE ABOUT THE WEATHER BY DOWNLOADING THE NEWS APP. >> IT’S IN THE GOOGLE PLAY AND APPLE APP STORES. We’re bringing you more live coverage on air and online throughout the day. >> FOR THE FIRST TIME WE WILL SEND IT BACK TO YOUR LOCATION

Wrecks on Arkansas’ snow-covered roads lead to traffic jams on the interstates

Updated: January 9, 2025, 3:09 p.m. CST

Wrecks on snow-covered roads slow traffic in parts of Arkansas. As of 3 p.m., all highways in the River Valley were covered in snow. It started snowing in northwest Arkansas. The three largest wrecks occurred on eastbound I-40 east of Van Buren, on the westbound I-40 off-ramp near Alma and on northbound I-540 in Van Buren. The Arkansas Department of Transportation used brine to treat highways and highways before snow. This makes it more difficult for snow and ice to connect to the roads. About 600 snowplows, 85,000 cubic yards of salt and 2,200 people, mostly working 12-hour shifts, are on deck to maintain roads across the state.

VAN BUREN, Ark. –

Wrecks on snow-covered roads slow traffic in parts of Arkansas.

As of 3 p.m., all highways in the River Valley were covered in snow. It started snowing in northwest Arkansas.

The three largest wrecks were on eastbound I-40 east of Van Buren, on the westbound I-40 exit ramp near Alma, and on northbound I-540 in Van Buren.

The Arkansas Department of Transportation used brine to treat highways and highways before snow. This makes it more difficult for snow and ice to bond to the road.

About 600 snowplows, 85,000 cubic yards of salt and 2,200 people, mostly working 12-hour shifts, are on deck to maintain roads across the state.