Roads become slick, dangerous in Southeast Missouri

Police are reporting car accidents on roads throughout the Cape Girardeau area caused by ice from the winter storm.

And roads are unlikely to get much better any time soon. The National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., is forecasting temperatures to reach a high of 24 degrees today in Cape Girardeau, meaning roads will likely stay slick for a while to come.

Mike Helpinstine, district maintenance engineer with MoDOT's Southeast district, said at temperatures like today's there's little that can be done to keep roads clear.

MoDOT crews applied brine salt to the roads this morning, but Helpinstine said for the salt to become chemically active, temperatures need to be in the high 20s.

"The best we can hope for is to maintain the conditions we have now," Helpinstine said.

By 1:30 p.m. Cape Girardeau police had already responded to 19 accidents within the city limits. Police have taken over 50 calls related to the weather conditions.

Jackson police reported three accidents, with four to five incidents of cars sliding off the road.

Cape Girardeau County's emergency management director Dick Knaup reported three major accidents earlier this morning at Center Junction between Cape Girardeau and Jackson, and Cape Girardeau police are working several accidents around the city.

"It's not going to get any better," Knaup said. He's advising people to stay off the roads if possible.

A dispatcher at the Highway Patrol Troop E headquarters in Poplar Bluff, Mo., said the troop is receiving calls on accidents throughout the Troop E area.

MoDOT is reporting Interstate 55 is covered with snow and ice from Sikeston north.

Cape Girardeau County Sheriff's Department Capt. Ruth Ann Dickerson said most of the accident reports in the county this morning were on Highway 74, but Interstate 55 traffic was starting to slow down. By 1 p.m. traffic was moving at about 25 miles per hour on I-55.

The county highway department began putting down cinders on all county roads around 10 a.m.

Cape Girardeau police Sgt. Barry Hovis said people should avoid driving if at all possible, and advised people to have something like ashes, sand or salt to use on driveways and sidewalks.

Police have outfitted their patrol cars with studded snow tires to aid with traction, and they have two Ford Explorers that can be used if roads are too slick.

City workers put down salt on the roads earlier in the day to help control ice, but roads are still slick.

The Cape Girardeau Fire Department reported many of medical calls this morning. Firefighter Michael Allen said two people slipped and fell on the ice, and the department responded to a mutual aid call for a car accident outside the city limits.