Sierra travelers hit with heavy snow and road closures
NYACK — Heavy snowfall arrived in the Sierra on Tuesday, causing spinouts and forcing highway shutdowns up and down the mountain.
During the afternoon hours, drivers traveling along Interstate 80 felt the effects of the Sierra snow.
"You can't be in a hurry. Just be OK with 25 miles per hour and you'll get there," said Angela Sneed.
Sneed was driving from Roseville to Reno with her sister, Ellie Drisenga, and their new puppy. The trio made a pitstop in Nyack.
"Full tank of gas, case of water and beef jerky," said Sneed, who listed off items gathered during the stop.
The sisters also had a pair of sleeping bags and extra coats for the chilly weather. But just moments after their family refueled in Nyack, Caltrans closed I-80 after spinouts caused chaos along the roadway.
"When we have chain controls in effect, on [I-80] it's 30 [miles per hour] and on [Highway] 50 it's 25 miles per hour, so we want to remind people to slow down so they can get to their destination safely," said Caltrans spokesperson Raquel Borrayo.
She said the agency prepositions 150 pieces of snow equipment to clear roadways as soon as snow falls.
"We actually have staff that drives the highway. They're looking at what conditions are like. We've got graders, plowers, we might bring in our blowers to move snow onto the shoulder areas," Borrayo said.
Borrayo explained that clearing the highway quickly for tractor-trailers is important because they're carrying millions of dollars of commercial goods daily.
"[Interstate] 80 is part of the federal freight highway system, so we see a massive amount of commercial goods being transported over donner summit on an hourly basis. We want to keep commercial goods moving on the highway so we can supply California and the rest of the country," Borrayo said.
For the latest on Chain Controls and highway closures, go here.