Snow, windy traffic in West Michigan

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Strong winds and falling snow led to hazardous driving conditions Monday morning, with crashes and slide-offs reported in West Michigan.

Windy winter storm hits west Michigan on Monday

A number of early morning crashes were reported in Allegan County. In the town of Saugatuck, a semi-truck was heading north I-196 when he crashed through the guardrail and onto Old Allegan Roadfire Chief Greg Janik told News 8. The crash closed the northbound lanes of the freeway and they were expected to remain closed overnight as state highway inspectors had to assess whether the bridge sustained structural damage.

Traffic conditions

Closer to Holland, a jackknifed semi truck closed southbound I-196 west of 60th Street, Allegan County Emergency Management said around 9:30 a.m.

In Allendale, a News 8 crew saw a rollover accident on 68th Avenue between Lincoln and Warner streets. The Ottawa County Sheriff’s Office was on the scene around 9:40 a.m. The driver said the wreck happened after he hit a patch of ice and lost control. Neither the driver nor the passenger in the car were injured.

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“Roads are very slippery. Visibility very poor,” said Lt. Scott Harkes, Allendale Fire/Rescue Department, saying the department has responded to a number of slide accidents and property damage – though none resulted in injuries.

“Stay home if you can. Take it slow, give yourself extra time,” Harkes said.

Crews are responding to power outages in western Michigan

In Kalamazoo County, snow on the I-96 business loop into the city of Kalamazoo also posed a traction challenge, and downtown roads were also snowy.

Alvan Allison was driving from Jackson to Grand Rapids with friends to cheer on the Michigan State University hockey team. He said some spots were hit and go in the morning, although conditions were clearer in the early afternoon.

“It was kind of clear coming up here for the last 3 or 4 miles, but before that, it was pretty intense,” Allison said. “With wind, it’s quite hard to measure because you’ll be driving along and the next thing, you’re going this way or that way and you’re not sure if it’s wind or roads – but a bit of both, I think.”

to Kalamazoo/Battle Creek International Airportthe air traffic control tower was barely visible Monday morning through the snow and wind. Several flights were delayed, and a flight to Chicago was canceled before evening.

Further north, the Kent County Road Commission says it is working to clear roads, focusing first on primary state and county roads as snow continues to fall throughout the day. The road commission warned that high winds could reduce visibility, bring down trees and cause snow to quickly back up roads.

Steve Roon, director of local road maintenance and construction for KCRC, told News 8 that while crews are making progress clearing the roads, it’s important for drivers to be aware of the rapidly changing conditions.

“(The roads) have improved a lot from earlier this morning to what we’re seeing now. Our crew’s efforts are really starting to make a difference,” Roon said. “We still want to warn drivers that we still have these strong winds, so you can drive for a long period of time on bare pavement and then encounter an area that is drifting and could make a short distance of some slippery roads.”

Muskegon County road crews said the biggest obstacle for plow drivers was the snow.

“A lot of drifting areas, especially in the north and east, so it was a little tricky to deal with,” said Drew Nichols, maintenance superintendent for the Muskegon County Road Commission.

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He said the night crew would be on the lookout for ice and drift – although with the snow and winds dropping in the evening, the drift wasn’t as bad as earlier in the day. He said with more snow and cold temperatures in the forecast for the next few days, crews may rely more on sand than just salt to treat roads.

“The snow we can deal with. It’s the ice that gets a little interesting,” Nichols said.

— News 8’s Susan Samples, Josh Sanchez, Rachel Van Gilder and Katherine Wilkison contributed to this report.

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