The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports that the Alaska Department of Transportation has reopened the Richardson Highway after closing a portion of the road on Friday.
Blizzard conditions in Interior Alaska shutdown a stretch of the Richardson Highway south of Delta Junction at about 7:30 a.m. Friday, according to the Alaska Department of Transportation. The closure went from Paxson Lodge at milepost 185 to Fielding Lake, located at Milepost 202. But barricades were set up at Fort Greely and milepost 261 further south, and the DOT said that no vehicles would be permitted to travel past that point until the road reopened.
"Due to blowing, drifting snow there is no visibility and highways are impassable," the DOT reported.
On Friday, the National Weather Service had a winter storm warning in effect until 6 p.m. Though only about two inches of snow was expected to accumulate in the region, wind blew through making road travel difficult.
According to Alaska 511 -- the DOT's highway conditions reporting site -- there are a number of other areas in Interior Alaska that featured difficult driving conditions Friday morning. Hazardous travel conditions were also being reported at several points along the Parks Highway. DOT would like to remind Richardson Highway drivers to use caution and keep an eye out for patches of ice and drifting snow.
Planning weekend travels? Be sure to check Alaska 511 before heading out.