2/9/2009 2:17:00 PM DPS urges drivers to stay off roads the next 48 hours
Staff Report/Navajo Hopi Observer
The Arizona Department of Public Safety (DPS) urges motorists to avoid driving the next 48 hours due to heavy snowfall. According to DPS, several areas of northern Arizona are experiencing heavy snowfall with limited visibility. The roadway surfaces are slippery and may be impassable due to the rapid snow accumulation on the roadways, especially in Coconino, Gila, Mohave, Navajo and Yavapai counties.
State Route 87 is closed from milepost 269 to 273. Interstate-40 westbound is blocked at milepost 88 near the Mohave and Yavapai County line due to several tractor-trailers stuck in the both lanes of traffic. In addition, many state highways now require snow chains or four-wheel drive. DPS officers have been investigating several weather related collisions since late this morning along with providing assistance to numerous motorists that have either slid off of the roadway or become disabled in the snow. Other parts of the state are experiencing rain, which also creates slippery roadway surfaces.
DPS urges all motorists to slow down, be very attentive to changing weather, road and traffic conditions and to drive with extreme caution. In addition, DPS recommends delaying travel to areas in northern Arizona affected by the snowfall during the next 48 hours if at all possible.
