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The Jefferson Exchange

Riders On The Storm: Keeping Roads Clear

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JPR News

Rogue Valley communities are not used to dealing with snow in any amounts, and eight inches fell on Medford on Tuesday (January 3, 2017). 

That's a headache for travelers to deal with, and the job of road crews to clean up. 

The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) works closely with its California counterpart, CalTrans, on the Interstate Five corridor linking the two states. 

So California blizzard conditions led to a half-day shutdown on the Siskiyou Summit on the Oregon side, to allow road maintenance to catch up with the weather.Gary Leaming from ODOT visits with details of the cooperative arrangement, and some perspective on the ferocity of the early January storm.

Traffic waiting to head over Siskiyou Summit southbound, afternoon of January 4th.
Credit Joi Riley/JPR News

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Geoffrey Riley is a graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and has hosted the Jefferson Exchange on JPR since 2009. He's been a broadcaster in the Rogue Valley for more than 35 years, working in both television and radio.