Snow, slippery roads cause headaches for commuters; I-670 westbound closed at Genessee

The Thursday evening commute was a long one for most travelers in the Kansas City area as an afternoon snowfall obscured visibility and slickened roads.

A crash involving semi trucks closed the westbound lanes of Interstate 670 at Genessee Street in the West Bottoms shortly before 7 p.m.

Numerous accidents were reported on other area highways as well as surface streets. Police said many bridges and overpasses were like ice.

Roads were so slick that a tow truck began sliding while trying to winch a vehicle out of a ditch.

At the height of rush hour, traffic was practically at a standstill on Southwest Boulevard and Bruce R. Watkins Drive.

This story was originally published February 19, 2015 at 7:36 PM with the headline "Snow, slippery roads cause headaches for commuters; I-670 westbound closed at Genessee."