I-70 reopened following winter weather closures

TOPEKA, Kan. (WIBW) - Interstate 70 west of Hays is completely reopened following a bout of winter weather.

By 5 p.m. Wednesday, KDOT posted it had closed I-70 at Goodland because of winter weather conditions and vehicle crashes on the Colorado side of the border. As the night went on, the closure moved further east. By 7 p.m., the interstate was closed at Colby; just after 9 p.m., it slid to Wakeeny; and at 10 p.m., KDOT pushed it to Hays.

In social media posts alerting of the closures, KDOT said it wasn’t just the slick road conditions, but also because hotel accommodations and truck parking was filling up, meaning drivers would not have any options to get off the road and wait out the storm if they continued west.

KDOT’s map at kandrive.org showed roads mostly to completely snow and ice packed across northwest and into north central Kansas by 9:30 p.m. Wednesday. A far east as Belleville, north of Concordia, traffic cameras showed snow-covered roads.

USD 333 Concordia has said it will operate on a two-hour delay Thursday. As of 9:45 p.m. Wednesday, it was the only delay or cancellation reported on our WIBW.com closings page. Keep checking for any updates.

By 8:45 a.m. on Thursday, I-70 had reopened between Colby and Hays, however, it was still closed west of Colby.

By 9:25 a.m. the interstate had completely reopened.

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