Slippery bridges and icy overpasses are common problems in times of winter weather and Tuesday's storm was no different.
Many residents woke up to “thunder snow,” a snowstorm coupled with lightning and thunder. In south Fort Worth, the snow started falling around 4:30 a.m. and changed to graupel, or ice pellets, back to snow.
As the rush hour picked up, so did the problems. Traffic slowed along Interstate 35W and the ramps to Interstate 20 backed up in both directions.
In North Texas, 156 sand trucks from the Texas Department of Transportation were out sanding bridges after the mix began to freeze. Crews say they did not pretreat the roads, because the precipitation would have washed it away.
For a short time Tuesday, officials closed the new Hulen bridge that passes over Vickery because it was too icy to drive across. It has since reopened.
While the winter mix stopped falling at about 9:30 a.m., many roads remained wet throughout the morning though conditions are improving at 11 a.m.
TxDOT crews continue to monitor conditions and warn drivers to use caution until temperatures are well above freezing.