For two days in mid-December, winter weather caused major concerns for drivers throughout much of the region. For people in areas of southern Warren County, the headache lasted even longer.

Drivers in the area of Marthasville and Dutzow had to contend with packed snow and a partial road closure for what seemed like a prolonged period of time even after the end of the Dec. 15-16 winter storm that dumped several inches of snow across the region. A portion of Highway TT east of Dutzow was closed to all but local traffic for much of the day after the storm. Highway 94 west of Marthasville was reported to be “a sheet of ice,” according to the Marthasville Volunteer Fire Department.

Residents in the area expressed frustration with what seemed like a slow response to get the roads clear, prompting officials with the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) to meet with the Warren County Commission Dec. 26.

Highway TT and Highway 94 are both state roadways, making them MoDOT’s responsibility to clear. But Area Engineer Erik Maninga said during major snow events, crews are primarily concerned with the major state roadways.

“MoDOT’s first priority is to continually treat and clear the higher volume roadways until they are mostly clear.  In Warren County this would be Interstate 70 and (Highway) 47,” Maninga explained. He said the goal for other highway routes, like TT and 94, is to treat them at least once every 24 hours.

MoDOT has 10 snow plow trucks and up to 18 personnel assigned to Warren County, Maninga said. During big storms like the one in December, keeping all the roadways clear can be a challenge.

MoDOT staff explained during the meeting with the county commission that about half of their trucks are assigned to I-70 and its outer roads, with more trucks dedicated to Highway 47 until those roads are mostly clear. That leaves only a small number of trucks to cover all the remaining state roads in Warren County.

Drivers deciding to head out during a storm or before roads are clear can compound the difficulty in removing the snow.

“With a multiple-day event, it doesn’t take long for the snow to be packed down by traffic, especially on the lettered (highways),” Maninga said. “There were several routes in Warren county that took a long time to clear up.  MoDOT crews treated the roadways at least once per day and after the event.  When roads get packed with snow and ice, it takes a lot longer to clear.”

Addressing the Highway TT closure specifically, Maninga said MoDOT  doesn’t close a road without consulting the Missouri State Highway Patrol. In this case, he said local emergency officials had previously expressed concerns about commercial semi trucks getting stuck on the hills and curves of TT during prior winter storms.

As a result, Maninga said a joint decision was made between state, county and local officials to limit Highway TT to local traffic during the snow event. That prevented large trucks from getting stuck and closing the road completely.