What goes into the decision to close highways during storms? We ask the NDOT

KEARNEY, Neb. — Travelers are now reaching their destinations after a disruptive trip through Nebraska.

A nasty winter storm prompted the Nebraska Department of Transportation to shut down parts of Interstate 80 and several different highways the day after Christmas.

The sometimes-unpopular decision to close roads isn’t made lightly and involves layers of communication.

“NDOT works with state patrol and we coordinate with local county sheriff’s departments, local city police departments and emergency managers," District 4 Operations and Maintenance Manager Ben Merchant said. "It’s kind of a coordinated effort to make the decisions as to when we need to close the highways.”

Merchant says the NDOT relies on input from local authorities when making the call to close a highway.

With winter storms, they consider wind direction and speed, drifting snow and actual pavement conditions. Blowing snow caused Tuesday’s closures in the western part of the state.

“The visibility was going down, we had snow blowing across the highway in places," Merchant said. "So in order to prevent more crashes and incidents that could potentially put people in danger, we closed the highway.”

Officials shut down I-80 in both directions from North Platte to Cheyenne, Wyoming. Closures of the westbound lanes eventually extended as far east as here in Kearney, despite normal driving conditions. Merchant says emergency managers monitor the services available in communities where the interstate shuts down. As hotels, truck stops and parking lots filled up, the closure gradually moved to Lexington and Kearney even though I-80 was in good shape in those areas.

“We closed the road further east so there’s a place for people to get hotel rooms or to park their vehicles,” Merchant said.

Interstate closures can rapidly overwhelm services in small towns.

--- Small town hospitality supports stranded travelers ---

“An example of that is Big Springs, Nebraska. It’s not a very big town, there’s some places we can park trucks but that area fills up quickly," Merchant said. "So we don’t want the interstate to be closed at that location for a long time.”

That happened Tuesday afternoon in the tiny town on the Colorado border and it stranded a high-profile traveler.

Former ESPN host Katie Nolan posted on X that she spent the night in her car in the parking lot of a Big Springs motel.

By 9:00 central time Wednesday morning, the interstate was completely back open. Merchant said the response required hundreds of plow drivers across the state.

“Our people understand that if there’s a storm coming in, they know they’re going to have to step up and respond to that storm and they do a great job of that," Merchant said. "I’m very proud of the people that I work with.”