For those whose careers rely on the roads, multiple significant winter storms this season have made their jobs that much harder to do.
It’s one of the reasons why Craig Smith, Director of Operations for the South Dakota Department of Transportation, says the closure of I-90 isn’t a decision to be taken lightly.
“I-90 is a critical corridor, not only for travelers but for freight haulers," Smith said. "It definitely has an impact and when we do close it, it stacks up traffic in the truck stops and other locations. So, recognize it’s a major impact and we don’t close it unless there are significant safety concerns on the highway, like the visibility and the drifting we had this week.”
Those conditions resulted in closures on both I-90 and I-29.
Christine Erickson is president of the South Dakota Trucking Association. She said this winter, members have clocked long, often unpaid waits in their trucks.
“We’ve seen a lot of road closures which then halts the transportation of our goods across the state as well as a lot of our truckers are sitting idle at different gas station areas," Erickson said. "That time for them to be on the road is the time they want to move the products.”
Erickson said patience on the receiving end doesn’t go unnoticed on the delivery end.
“Over the last couple of years people have grown to be a little bit more patient with supply chain disruption," Erickson said. "Now with the weather delaying some of those things people have been pretty forgiving through that, but we want to be sure we can get those products moving right away when we can. The truckers want to be on the road.”
Erickson also reminds drivers to share the road with large trucks, especially when driving in challenging conditions.