Officials warn residents to stay off roads, CMPD responds to 221 wrecks

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Road conditions have continued to dramatically worsen Thursday, and city and county officials said it will be a while before things improve. Officials are asking that residents continue to stay off the roads as much as possible.

City, county, state, and federal governmental departments are working together to assist residents and improve road conditions.

Also, officials said pedestrians should walk against traffic, wear bright clothing and try to stay of the roads.

Departments released the following updates:

Charlotte Fire Department has responded to approximately 50 service calls Thursday morning. One operator did slide off the road but no damage or injury. The power outages in Charlotte are mainly south of uptown Charlotte.

Charlotte Area Transit System has discontinued all bus and Special Transportation Services service for Thursday. The light rail will continue normal schedule but may experience delays.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department has responded to 160 calls for disabled vehicles in the roadway Thursday morning. So far, CMPD has responded to 221 accidents since Wednesday with 17 having injuries.

Charlotte Department of Transportation has plenty of salt. They will be working crews in 12-hour shifts. Contractors have been called in to help handle the extra work in the uptown business district and southwest area.

Solid Waste Services has canceled all service for the week and will resume next week.

Charlotte-Douglas International Airport remains open. Read more on its updates by clicking here.

CharMeck 311 has received roughly 1,300 calls since opening at 6 a.m. Thursday -- primarily for trash collection questions and court appointment issues.

The South Carolina Department of Transportation reported overcast conditions for much of the state Thursday.

Snow and rain were reported in several counties as the storm moved north. Most counties continue to report snow and ice on roads and bridges with the exception of coastal areas.

Crews are continuing to plow interstates and primary routes with all available snow plows.

Temperatures continued to rise above freezing in much of the state Thursday and interstate conditions are passable. Primary and secondary roads in much of the state remain covered with snow and ice.

Fallen trees were a significant problem Thursday.

Travel is not recommended unless absolutely necessary -- especially on secondary roads. SCDOT crews are working continuously on rotating 12-hour shifts, applying salt and other anti-icing and deicing materials.

Contract workers and local government partners are also assisting with snow and vegetation debris removal operations in many counties. There were no reported injuries or accidents to SCDOT employees Thursday.

The SCDOT had 1,539 maintenance employees actively involved in road operations Thursday and were using 13,236 tons of salt, 5,092 tons of sand, 65,341 gallons of calcium chloride and 1,249,932 gallons of salt brine.

Temperatures in the upstate were ranging between 32 and 35 degrees and all counties were reporting snow with the exception of Fairfield. The road conditions throughout the districts are covered with snow and ice. Interstates, priority routes, and bridges continue to be treated with anti-icing and deicing materials and equipment Thursday afternoon.

WSOC