‘Please stay home’: Road conditions across Kansas City deteriorate as winter storm hits
Road conditions across the Kansas City metro are beginning to worsen and authorities are asking people to stay home as crashes have already been reported Thursday morning.
A winter storm started passing through the area late Wednesday, with snow continuing to fall Thursday morning. Kansas City could see between five and nine inches of snow over the next few days.
“If possible, please stay home and off the road this morning — know before you go!” the Kansas City Department of Transportation said on Twitter on Thursday. “Allow for extra travel time and drive with caution — visibility is low as snow continues.”
Because of the inclement conditions, the Overland Park Police Department is requesting drivers that have been involved in collisions with no injuries to report the crash at a later date.
There have been several crashes reported Thursday across the metro area, according to kcscout.net:
- A multi-vehicle crash was reported on I-635 southbound on the ramp from Shawnee Drive
- A crash was reported on the I-70 eastbound ramp from Park Drive
- A crash was reported on I-70 eastbound just past 78th Street in Wyandotte County, closing the left lane
- A crash was reported on I-435 northbound just before 23rd Street
The National Weather Service in Kansas City tweeted Thursday morning that road conditions will deteriorate rapidly across the metro as snow continues to fall.
On Wednesday, Mayor Quinton Lucas said every street in Kansas City is a priority to get plowed. He added that there is not a “strategic under-investment” for roads in any part of the city.
His comments came after multiple Kansas Citians told The Star last month that roads in the neighborhood near East 27th Street and Oakley Avenue had not been getting cleared as quickly as other parts of the city.
