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Troops from the Missouri State Highway Patrol in Mid-Missouri have helped dozens of arrested and injured drivers since midnight.
The agency’s Troop F, which covers much of the area, said Friday morning that its soldiers had been dispatched to 26 accidents and 13 calls from chained drivers since midnight, while a winter storm covered the area’s roads. with ice.
Ice also trapped an ambulance on Silvey Drive, in western Columbia, while trying to climb a steep hill. No patient was on board.
The roads were starting to show some improvement shortly after 10 am, with temperatures in some places getting above freezing. Parts of Interstate 70 and Highway 63 in Mid-Missouri went from partially covered to mostly clean or clean, according to the Missouri Department of Transportation’s online traveler map.
Another round of winter precipitation is expected to hit the area on Friday afternoon, followed by a drop in temperatures.
State highways remain slippery, says MoDOT
State highways around Mid-Missouri remained partially covered with ice at 8 am on Friday.
The Missouri Department of Transportation posted an update of road conditions in its social media accounts saying that many roads in the area are almost all covered and telling drivers to beware of hanging tree branches and power lines swept by the ice.
The agency later reported that Highway 54 was reopened in Fulton.
The online MoDOT traveler information map showed several roads in the area in poor condition, with ice partially covering Interstate 70 and highways 63 and 54 through Mid-Missouri.
The agency continued to warn of delays on Route T in Macon County, north of Randolph County, because of a tree uprooted from the road.
Temperatures have started to rise slightly above freezing in some parts of the area, but are not expected to rise much over the course of the day. More winter precipitation is expected.
Ice on tree branches and power lines continued to contribute to power outages, with Columbia Water and Light reported that outages affected more than 200 customers along Stadium Boulevard and part of southern Columbia. Ameren Missouri reported outages spread across the area, including 250 customers in the Ashland area.
The city of Columbia said a new plow team informed them at 7 am to continue working on the roads.
Teams block 54 West highway in Fulton for utility services
The Missouri Department of Transportation said the teams blocked the western lanes of Highway 54 in Fulton because of power lines on the road.
Crews said there is a detour for people driving in the area.
The MoDOT traveler’s map said the highway could be closed for up to four hours. It included the lanes to the east were not affected.
Driving conditions worsened, more power outages were reported in Mid-Missouri
Middle Missouri officials say driving conditions have worsened and more power outages have been reported on New Year’s Day as freezing rain continues to fall.
A MoDOT tweet said that most roads in Mid-Missouri are partially or almost completely covered, as freezing rain continues to fall in the area. Crews said winter is creating dangerous driving conditions.
Separately, the Missouri Electric Cooperative Association’s outage map said that more than 8,500 electricity consumers across the state had had no power since 6 am.
The map said a dozen electricity cooperatives in Mid-Missouri were reporting outages – affecting 779 customers in Cooper County, 447 in Pettis County, 623 in Benton County, 1,329 in Morgan County, 209 in Camden County, 261 in Miller County, 340 in Maries County.
Several outages affecting less than 100 customers have been reported in Cole, Boone, Callaway, Osage, Moniteau and Randolph counties.
An ABC 17 Stormtrack Weather Alert Day is in effect for winter weather on New Year’s Day.
Crews report power lines cut in West Columbia, multiple electrical outages
Boone County emergency crews reported that cut power lines partially covered a road in western Columbia early Friday morning.
A tweet from Boone County Joint Communications said the cut lines were reported in College Park, just north of Stadium Boulevard.
The Columbia Water and Light outage map reported that 426 electricity consumers in that area were without power.
At least 10 interruptions have been reported between Stadium Boulevard and Interstate 70.
The map included 366 customers near Columbia Mall also went out of power on Friday morning. This is less than 1,299 without lights when the outage was first reported at 4:12 am
It was not immediately clear whether the freezing rain played a role in the various interruptions.
More than 1,700 customers of the power cooperative in Mid-Missouri
Data from the online electrical cooperative said more than 1,700 customers were out of power on Friday morning.
The Association of Missouri Electric Cooperatives online outage map said customers in Morgan and Miller counties were being affected by the outages.
According to the outage map, 1,129 Co-Mo Electric Co-op customers in Morgan County, 406 Gasconade Electric Cooperative customers in Miller County and 192 Three Rivers Electric Co-op also in Miller County.
Minor outages affecting less than 10 customers each have also been reported in Boone, Cole and Monroe counties.
It is not clear whether the winter weather in the area caused the disruptions. Freezing rain has been falling in the area since Thursday night.
Sharon Lane crew battle
Boone County fire crews were called to a structural fire at Sharon Lane block 6000 at the beginning of New Year’s Day.
Firefighters responded at around 12:30 pm to find a burning building. The shed owner spoke to an ABC 17 News team and said he believed a wood stove caused the fire.
The crews initially had trouble accessing a nearby fire hydrant because of the ice that formed during the night.
Firefighters said the damage caused by fire and smoke was mainly contained in the shed, but that some sides of a nearby house were also melted. The shed smoked for more than two hours after the teams arrived on the scene.
No one was injured in the fire, firefighters said.
Icy roads, crashes sound in the new year
ORIGINAL: Freezing rain is causing dangerous road conditions in mid Missouri to start in 2021.
Several agencies, including Missouri State Highway Patrol F Troop and Boone County Joint Communications are warning against the direction.
Boone County emergency crews reported at least six accidents after midnight, including two on Interstate 70 and two on Highway 63.
An accident closed the south side of Rangeline Street just before 1:30 am
Shortly after 1:30 am, Cole County emergency crews reported via radio traffic that the two lanes on Highway 50 westward were closed near Big Horn Drive due to an accident.
ABC 17 News does not normally report radio traffic without confirming with the responding agency, however, the emergency response declared “attention to all media listeners”.
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