SPOKANE, Wash. — Car crashes snarled traffic in the Spokane area amid snowy and icy road conditions on Wednesday morning.
Spokane police told KREM's Amanda Roley that they responded to 34 crashes between midnight and early Wednesday afternoon. The area with the most accidents was 37th Avenue by Chase Middle School.
Washington State Patrol District 4 spokesman Jeff Sevigney said troopers in the district had responded to 44 crashes since midnight.
About two inches of snow fell in the Spokane area on Tuesday night into Wednesday morning, according to the National Weather Service.
According to City of Spokane spokesperson Marlene Feist, main arterials were treated on Tuesday night with deicer in preparation of the snow, but not residential roads. She also said school zones were treated in addition to the arterials on Wednesday morning.
KREM's Danamarie McNicholl says that 29th Avenue on the South Hill was extremely icy on Wednesday. A crash that may have involved a city bus led to a lengthy traffic backup in the area.
Other roads on the South Hill, including Regal Street, 37th Avenue and Grand Avenue, were also very slick.
Some KREM viewers also reported icy roads in North Spokane, including Freya Street between Francis and Euclid Avenues.
The state Department of Transportation reports that traffic was slowed on westbound I-90 from Argonne Road to Spokane. Crews are working to clear roads throughout eastern Washington.
Spokane police also tweeted about Wednesday morning’s slow commute, saying crashes are happening in the region.
“Please give yourself more time and prepare for changing road conditions,” police wrote on Twitter.
City crews have deployed sanders and deicers on arterials, hills and bridges. Plows are addressing areas where there is enough snow accumulations.
Crews prepped the streets with deicer before the snow started falling and they have been working throughout Wednesday morning, city leaders said.
City leaders reminded drivers to slow down and watch following distances.
Area schools were not delayed or canceled on Wednesday morning, despite the poor road conditions.
A semi nearly plunged into a canyon on Highway 195 near Colfax on Wednesday morning. Pullman Radio reports that no one was hurt and the highway is not closed.
Drivers should expect difficult travel over mountain passes on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Thursday will likely bring the biggest back-ups over the passes.
A Winter Storm Warning is in effect for a handful mountain passes, including White, Stevens, Snoqualmie, Dobson and Lookout, from 1 p.m. on Wednesday until 10 a.m. on Friday. WSDOT says heavy snow is expected.