I-70 closed at Salina; use Kandrive to monitor road conditions

As a traveler you may have seen that many roads are closed in the western part of the state, and there’s a good reason for that.

           

The massive winter storm and high winds that started yesterday in Colorado, Nebraska and Kansas are continuing to cause extreme travel difficulties. Many roadways are closed in central and western Kansas with hotels being filled up and semis stranded along highways. 

As of early this afternoon, westbound I-70 is closed from Salina to the Colorado border. Eastbound I-70 is closed from Hays to the Colorado border. Numerous other highways in northwestern Kansas are also closed, or have recently been closed, including stretches of U.S. 36, U.S. 40, U.S. 27, U.S. 83, K-9, K-161, K-117 and K-25. Several highways in southwest Kansas are snow packed and icy. 

“There is little to no visibility on parts of I-70, and the weather conditions are worse on many highways north of I-70 in western Kansas,” said Kansas Department of Transportation District Engineer Jeff Stewart in Norton. “There is also currently no truck parking along I-70 west of Salina.” 

There also have been many questions on how to see road conditions in your area with kandrive.org.  

If you simply want to see road conditions, without waiting for the scrolling maps to come back, go over to the right side of the site and click Kansas Road Conditions.   

Once there you will see multiple colors on the map, the legend for the map is the third box under the red exclamation point. 

Red means closed, pink means mostly/completely snow packed, purple is drifting, blue is partly snow packed and brown is wet/slush. 

Currently KDOT is advising drivers if your area has a bright color on it, don’t travel unless you absolutely must. This gives the KDOT crews time to work and clean the roads, making your travel safe. If you must travel, drive for the conditions: slow down, use your headlights and completely clean off your car before traveling. Also make sure that you have an emergency kit with you and a fully charged cell phone. 

If you are involved in a crash please dial *47 on a cell phone, for Kansas Highway Patrol dispatch, or 911.  

Colorado Road Conditions