TEXAS, USA — Many motorists were stuck on Interstate 20, west of Abilene, for 13 hours or more, as snow and ice on the roads led to semis and other vehicles having issues gaining traction, as well as several reported crashes.
Thursday, the Howard County Sheriff's Office issued a statement on its Facebook page, saying, "I-20 between the 191 and 195 mile markers (rattlesnake gap) are completely shut down, both directions of travel. Several wrecks and several stranded vehicles.
Please stay off the roads!"
Comments followed on the page with some asking for updates and for the HCSO to answer phone lines. Some commented saying they were worried about their families, some with children in their vehicles, who were stuck in the traffic jam.
Thomas Barclay, a truck driver, said he was on his way from El Paso to Roanoke Thursday. Near Midland, it began to snow, and Barclay said the further east he drove, the heavier the snow got.
"There had been chatter over the radio that said that the eastbound side was blocked. I think they said 18 miles west of Big Spring Texas and before we got out of Midland, they said it had been cleared. Me and another driver continued on and we ended up getting just on the other side of Stanton and it had come to a gridlock stop, and it just kept piling on from there,” Barclay said.
Tanya Brown, Texas Department of Transportation Abilene District Public Information Officer, said traffic on I-20 westbound was at a standstill overnight and crews were continuing to assist 18-wheelers as conditions were improving. She said she believes the entire situation started Thursday night because of minor crashes
We asked Brown how long people were stuck on the interstate.
“I don’t know off-hand, but I have heard that people have said that they have been out there like 13 hours. There are some 18-wheelers that stopped last night because of road conditions and their having trouble getting traction to get moving again, so crews are helping them to get some traction so that they can get on the road again," she said. "Traffic has not stopped completely so it’s just moving slowly so you can still use that route. I would use an alternate route if you can just until they get all the 18-wheelers back on the road, but it is passable and it is not shutdown completely. It’s just moving slowly.”
“I believe that the situation started last night due to minor crashes, and with the road conditions, motorists felt like it was best to pull over, so that’s how this started. It’s just a slow-go trying to get 18-wheelers back on the road just due to traction. We ask that motorists use the drivetexas.org to check current road conditions, so they’ll know before they go," she said.
Barclay said the gridlock was at least 14-15 hours.
“Anyone that was in the vicinity, if they were a mile ahead of me or a mile behind, they were there about 14-15 hours," Barclay said. “With the cars that were around us and stuff,…worried about them running out of gas, no being able to stay warm, not having the supplies they need…at least water or a snack or something like that to get through the night until they got us out of there.”
He said he's seen traffic backups such as this before, but not in Texas.
“I’ve seen it happen several other times, but that was well before I was driving. That was…I was in the Marines last time I've seen it happen."
As with many others, Barclay said there was little to no contact or updates from law enforcement during the ordeal.
“We didn’t see any of the authorities, of course I understand it was a freak storm. We didn’t see any authorities coming up either service road to make sure and check that everything was okay…I had heard reports of people running low on gas or running out," he said. "Mostly the thing that could have been done was just a simple presence to say hey if we have to flag somebody down and get somebody an ambulance or something like that…There was no police presence or anything like that on the highway last night.”
We reached out to the Howard County Sheriff's Office for comment.