Photo: Bill Greenblatt/UPI
The state transportation department reopened Interstate 70 across Missouri about 7 o-clock this morning. But the department suggests only limited travel because 70 is still covered with hard-packed snow.
I-44 has been opened from Springfield to the Oklahoma state line. I-44 West/Oklahoma Will Rogers Turnpike remains closed due to winter road conditions. I-44 in Missouri is open from Springfield to Exit 11 at Joplin. MoDOT warns motorists driving west on I-44 to get off the interstate at Exit 11 (Route FF/32nd Street) at Joplin. The detour route for motorists drivng west is: US 71 south to I-540/Arkansas, then west into Oklahoma on I-40 (heading to Oklahoma City) or US 412 (heading into Tulsa.) All routes are still considered snow packed. MoDOT warns motorists not to take US 60 West and expect to use I-44 in Oklahoma, because it has been closed by large snow drifts.
The department says travel conditions everywhere but in southeast Missouri will remain potentially dangerous because of road conditions and the high winds that are expected to cause visibility problems and drifting. The department hopes to stabilize major roads (US routes) as soon as possible and then turn to the numbered and lettered routes as the day goes on.
Click here for MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map.