PORTLAND, Ore. — There were several crashes on Portland area roads after snow fell throughout much of the area Friday night and Saturday morning.
Perhaps most notably, a jackknifed semi-truck blocked the Interstate 5 southbound ramp to Interstate 84 eastbound for more than four hours.
Sky 8 video: Driver trapped by jackknifed truck helped out
A stalled bus backed up traffic on Interstate 205 northbound to the Airport Way ramp to Portland International Airport, causing a backup of several miles. ODOT crews with gravel freed the bus several hours later.
Oregon Department of Transportation spokesman Peter Murphy said the vehicles on those ramps and all vehicles on the freeway should have had chains or traction devices on, though ODOT and the Oregon State Police have not issued any such directive.
He said no salt has been applied by ODOT today that he knows of on freeway lanes and ramps.
KGW's Christine Pitawanich reported many roads in Northeast Portland were slick and there were a number of people pulled over and spinning tires.
KGW's Pat Dooris was on the eastside of Portland Saturday morning where he he saw several crashes on icy roads.
KGW's Keely Chalmers was in Vancouver on Saturday morning and roads were covered were in snow.
While many roads north and east of Portland were icy or had snow, areas south and west of Portland missed most of the snowfall.
More helpful links:
- Radar: on.kgw.com/radar
- Weather-related closures (mobile): on.kgw.com/closures
- Weather alerts on.kgw.com/weatheralerts
- 7-day: on.kgw.com/7day
Traffic links:
- Traffic alerts: on.kgw.com/alerts
- Traffic speed maps: kgw.com/traffic