Update at 5:10 pm:
Here's an update on work to clear Kentucky's roadways following the latest snowfall and ice, from the state transportation office:
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet (KYTC) crews are nearly finished with clearing state routes of the snow and ice left by a winter storm that swept the Commonwealth with some record snowfall totals and frigid temperatures.
Work in most of the 12 Department of Highway districts is expected to conclude in early evening.
On Interstate 65, scene of a pair of miles-long backups that began Wednesday night, a crew today repaired a barrier “crash cushion” that was struck by a tractor-trailer in Hart County. The work required temporary closure of the southbound lanes at Exit 65, near Munfordville. The highway is now open, but southbound traffic volume is reported as heavy.
In western Kentucky, crews today were able to clear a long line of tractor-trailers on I-24, though recurring crashes plagued travelers throughout the day. Incidents included a multiple-vehicle pileup involving a commercial truck this afternoon in the eastbound lanes in Lyon County.
“Our road crews have been working in very difficult circumstances, contending not only with extreme weather but also with repeated highway crashes that lead to new traffic backups,” KYTC Secretary Mike Hancock said.
Motorists traveling tonight and over the weekend should slow down. The rash of crashes overnight underscores the importance of adjusting one’s speed to road surface conditions.
With temperatures below zero across the Commonwealth, the focus will be on plowing with limited chemical treatment until there is some warming.
Update at 3:46 pm:
The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet office in Elizabethtown has this update on I-65 in the Hart County region:
I-65 Southbound repairs are complete at Mile Point 65. Both lanes are open. Queue on southbound I65 at exits north of Munfordville and on US 31W, which was used as an alternate route will take time to dissipate. Southbound volume is extremely heavy. No problems are reported northbound. Other southbound areas of I65 are moving freely.
Original post:
Traveling on I-65 between Hardin and Hart counties has remained a challenge Friday, thanks to several accidents along the interstate.
Crews worked overnight to free vehicles—including many tractor trailers—that became stuck along I-65 near Bonnieville. Numerous accidents along the interstate Wednesday evening led to scores of stranded motorists who became trapped on the roadway when heavy snowfall hit the region.
The last of those vehicles were finally freed this morning, but several fresh accidents Friday morning continued to slow traffic.
A crash in a construction zone south of exit 65 in Munfordville backed up traffic for nine miles at one point today.
Just south of Hopkinsville, crews worked throughout the day to remove two tractor-trailers that become stuck on an I-24 exit to U.S. 41-A.