By STEELE HAUGEN
CENTRAL OREGON DAILY NEWS
As the weather starts to get worse, so do the road conditions.
Areas south of Bend saw consistent snowfall on Thursday as a forecasted storm moved through.
ODOT’s Peter Murphy knew this was coming and crews were prepared.
“In certain areas it kind of gets affected before others,” Murphy said. “The Lava Butte area and south of there because it is higher than the rest of the area around here. So we knew that was coming and had people out there who took care of the plowing that needed to happen.”
Travelers like Jorge came over the mountain Friday morning.
“We just went through the Santiam pass and it’s snowing a little bit on the higher elevations, But it’s drivable,” said Jorge, a Springfield resident. “People were driving. I didn’t see anyone using the chains on the vehicles yet. The snowplows were working and everything was pretty good.”
With mostly rain in Bend, Murphy warns more difficult conditions are ahead.
“Perhaps tomorrow morning is the time people need to be most cautious as we experience the cold temperature and ice forming,” Murphy said.
