WEST FORK, Ark. — As snow fell in the early morning of Jan. 5 across northwestern Arkansas, highways began to be impacted by crashes and stranded vehicles.
At 6:59 a.m., the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT) reported a crash involving two semi-trucks being hit, one of them rolling over on I-49 northbound in Washington County. This occurred just eight miles south of West Fork, slightly north of the Bobby Hopper Tunnel according to the report.
By this time, snow was falling heavily, slowing traffic as drivers moved cautiously, but the crash stopped the traffic completely for hours.
Traffic was backed up for several miles due to the crash, but began moving again at around 10 a.m. No injuries were reported.
5NEWS met with drivers at Tobo's Gas Station just north of the tunnel shortly after traffic began moving. Mark Branch was hauling a backhoe to Oklahoma from Dover, AR when he was caught in the wreck's traffic.
"I didn't really look at the clock but it was a long time," Branch said. "Sort of bad because I had a quarter of a tank of gas when I turned at I540."
Donald Wolfe was headed to Springdale to pick up a load of chicken headed for Houston, Texas when he came to the tunnel.
"A little over two hours ... There was probably an inch of ice all over the road," Wolfe said. "You know, I missed my breakfast to get to my pickup, and I'm still late. So I thought, 'Well, I guess I'm gonna go get breakfast.'"
ARDOT Spokesperson Dave Parker explained that their crews also had to face the traffic, as many drivers did.
"If there's a way to pull over a little bit so that we can get emergency crews, or ARDOT crews through there to treat at least one path, that would help out a lot," Parker said.
Parker said they observed the outside right lanes having less snow with drivers picking the lane. He explained that the inside left lane was getting a lot of snow and became a problem quickly.
With this being the first snow of the year, Parker hopes this prepares drivers and crews with experience for future snowstorms.
"Hopefully I'm going to be sitting by the fire. Watching it snow not doing anything," Branch said.
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