After cleaning up an icy patch of U.S. Interstate 35 near Ames that saw more than 50 vehicles sliding into the ditches or colliding with others travelers, the Iowa State Patrol reopened the roadway to through traffic about 2:15 p.m. Thursday.
The stretch of interstate highway near the Skunk River in Story County was closed about noon when the roadway became 100 percent ice covered and numerous collisions clogged travel lanes. Southbound traffic was temporarily diverted off the interstate at the 124 mile marker near Story City by the Iowa State Patrol.
According to reports, more than 50 disabled vehicles were concentrated near the 116 mile marker of southbound U.S. Interstate 35, about four miles north of the U.S. Highway 30 interchange in Ames. Many vehicles remain in the ditches, but the travel portions of the roadway are now clear, having been treated and cleared of snow by Iowa Department of Transportation snow plows.
Holiday motorists are urged to use great caution in traveling on roadways 100 percent snow and ice covered.
