Winter Weather caused problems for drivers in Fort Smith on Wednesday. The Fort Smith Street and Traffic Control Department plans to have a crew work throughout the night.
Snow plows cleared roads Wednesday. Workers laid a salt and sand mixture on the roads in Fort Smith.
“This time of year we keep our truck ready and we got a second one ready yesterday based on the forecast,” said Greg Riley, Director of the Fort Smith Street and Traffic Control Department.
The street department says workers blocked off close to a dozen roads in Fort Smith. “When it first started coming down some of the hills we put barricades on the steeper hills that aren't safe to go down when it's icy,” said Riley.
Drivers could not quite make it up a hill on Independence Street. One man parked his truck and walked up the hill.
“I see a lot of overconfidence in driving and not responding to the situation that the roads are wet,” said Sgt. Daniel Grubbs.
Fort Smith police say they saw a spike in accidents Wednesday. “In a little over an hour around the lunch time I mean we had 11 accidents reported to us,” said Sgt. Grubbs.
Police say most of the accidents were fender benders and only one had injuries. “It's the nature of the beast when this type of weather comes in especially within the first few hours,” said Sgt. Grubbs.
The street department says conditions improved as the day progressed Wednesday.
“We're gonna keep crews going through the night to hit the hot spots,” said Riley.
The Fort Smith Police Department says they will monitor the weather and put studded tires on patrol cars if necessary.