ST. LOUIS (KMOV.com) — Freezing rain is causing dangerous road conditions around the St. Louis area.
Multiple crashes have been reported and delays of up to 3 hours have been reported.
An accident involving a tractor trailer blocked off northbound I-270 at Gravois. The accident caused major traffic delays lasting for more than 3 hours. The right two lanes are now open, the two left lanes remain closed.
As of 3:30 p.m., the Missouri State Highway Patrol Troop C said there were 286 calls for service, 80 stranded vehicles, 111 crashes and 12 injuries resulting form the icy road conditions.
The icy roads did not stop the Maryland Heights Fire Protection District from ensuring a patient getting the care he needed. Responders could not make it up the hill in their ambulance to SSM Health DePaul Hospital so they walked the patient up the hill in the middle of the storm instead.
Bob Becker, District Maintenance Engineer for MoDOT said the roads were pretreated by crews overnight, however, the chemicals on the road were washed away by the freezing rain and the crews were unable to keep up with the increasingly slippery road conditions.
Most of the roadways have been cleared by noon, leaving only minor accidents and delays in the viewing area.
A few spots on and near St. Louis area interstates caused a number of troubles for earlier commuters.
Tractor trailer crash on I-44, near I-270 (Credit: MSHP)
70 at Cave Springs
Ross Odenbreit