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Crews work to manage roads in widespread blizzard

Posted at 5:33 PM, Jan 22, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-22 20:12:23-05

EL PASO COUNTY- Department of Public Works crews spent Tuesday morning cleaning up the roads as snow dumped across all parts of the county.

Unlike Friday’s storm, Tuesday’s blizzard didn’t stick to the northern parts of the county. Which made for some challenges as the road crews worked to send out the plows to areas all throughout El Paso County.

‘We’re scattered all over Calhan, little bit south, up in the pass, we’ve been all over,’ said Troy Wiitala, Highway Manager for El Paso County Department of Public Works.

The wind- making the cleanup especially challenging as there low visibility and blowing snow added to the challenging commute.

Additionally, there were many drivers who decided not to stay home and traveled for a challenging commute.

‘You know it’s not safe for us to be out there either trying to plow with all the cars out there,’ said Wiitala, adding that in some cases with all of the vehicle traffic, it made rescue operations difficult for vehicles that were stuck.

U.S 24 at Woodmen Road shut down for hours Tuesday, as the low visibility and fast moving winds made travel dangerous.

Woodmen Road saw all types of conditions from blowing snow, ice, and limited visibility.