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Article published Jan 27, 2004
Drivers urged to stay off roads
Tony Taylor
Staff Writer
Six travelers died on South Carolina roads between 5 p.m. Sunday and noon Monday, and the state Department of Public Safety is blaming the weather.The department was urging motorists to stay off roads until icy conditions improve.The fatalities occurred primarily in the Pee Dee and Midlands: two in Orangeburg County and one each in Richland, Laurens, Dillon and Darlington counties, said department spokesman Sid Gaulden.No weather-related deaths -- either trafficfatalities or from the cold -- had been reported in Spartanburg County as of Monday evening, according to Coroner Jim Burnett.The state Highway Patrol responded to 1,500 collisions Sunday evening and Monday morning, Gaulden said.Spartanburg County and state road crews worked around the clock Sunday and Monday in an attempt to lessen the effects of a winter storm that dumped more than an inch of ice on Upstate roads.But most of the county's roads are likely to remain treacherous until temperatures climb above freezing."The removal of ice from pavement is nearly impossible," said Mike Garrett, county public works director. "You have to wait until the temperature is warmer."Forecasters predicted high temperatures would reach into the upper 30s today.Meanwhile, workers for the Spartanburg County Roads and Bridges Department and the state Department of Transportation continued to dump sand on major thoroughfares to make road easier to navigate.Garrett said the county had eight trucks dumping sand on steep hills where motorists are more likely to get stuck.Lance Cpl. Dan Marsceau, spokesman for the South Carolina Highway Patrol, said nearly 100 Upstate motorists were stuck on a slope or hill after their vehicles lost traction in the ice between Sunday and Monday."Some of the hills are not necessarily that big," Marsceau said. "But you cannot get enough speed to go up the hill without traction."State workers had spent most of their time trying to keep I-85 and I-26 open."We've had between 15 and 18 sand-spreaders out since 10 a.m. Sunday," said Tony Dill, a DOT maintenance foreman. "We've dumped 300 tons of material. We're been constantly fighting to keep our interstates open."Materials and overtime pay are expected to cost Spartanburg County about $30,000, Garrett said.Dill said he is unsure how much the clean up will cost the DOT."I would hesitate to put a price on it right now," Dill said.No one section of the county appeared to be affected more than others."We can't tell a whole lot of difference anywhere," Garrett said. "There's an inch of ice on every road in the county."Across the state, the DOT had 938 employees working on clearing the roads.And 396 pieces of equipment had been used to spread 4,467 tons of salt through Monday morning.Tony Taylor can be reached at 562-7219 or tony.taylor@shj.com