MADISON, Wis. — Snowy conditions and dozens of crashes snarled traffic across southern Wisconsin Friday and kept first responders and tow truck drivers busy.
Between 5 a.m. and 12:45 p.m., the Wisconsin State Patrol said its troopers responded to 32 crashes and 61 calls to assist motorists, including more than 50 vehicle runoffs.
Duty Sergeant Craig Morehouse said the number of incidents can vary from storm to storm.
“It varies a lot depending on the amount of snow we get, how fast we get it, the temperature, also, you know, and it’ll vary too depending on (the) day of the week and time of day and that sort of thing,” he said.
The agency’s response includes coordinating things like plows to come in to clear lanes that have been closed due to crashes but have accumulated more snowfall.
Morehouse added that traffic issues were quieting down as the snowfall slowed throughout the day.
Multiple minor crashes along the Beltline caused wide-reaching traffic delays throughout rush hour Friday morning.
One crash on the westbound Beltline near Whitney Way, which was cleared around 8:15 a.m., caused backups as far as Rimrock Road. Minor crashes on the eastbound Beltline also caused backups stretching west to Gammon Road, according to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation’s 511 traffic map.
The Madison Police Department also responded to numerous crashes and slide-offs. In an incident report, the agency said it went to priority-only calls around 8:30 a.m. and returned to normal routine calls about four hours later.
RELATED COVERAGE:
- At peak, roughly 20 Metro buses stuck on snowy Madison roads Friday
- Semi crash shuts down portion of Highway 151 outside Dickeyville; driver suffers life-threatening injuries
- Spun out semi truck, vehicles cause delays near I-39/90/94 interchange
- I-39 fully reopened outside of DeForest after semi jack-knifed
- Madison streets division preparing for accumulating snow, urges drivers to leave extra time to get to destinations
Download the First Warn Weather app to stay up-to-date on current weather conditions and the latest forecast.
This story was updated to correct the number of crashes.
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