The large amounts of snow and high winds from the recent blizzard made work treacherous for Iowa Department of Transportation snowplow crews and brought traffic to a stop in many parts of the state. D-O-T spokesperson Dena Gray-Fisher says traffic is now moving again.

Gray-Fisher says all roads are now open, though there may be some "width difficulties as far as the number of lanes that’re open, but she says all state highways are now open. Gray-Fisher says crews still face some problems. She says one problem is the snow that melts and re-freezes, there’s also roads that’re hard packed with snow and ice that has to be removed. Gray-Fisher says crews will be working in the areas where there are large drifts and the roads were partially opened.

Gray-Fisher says the work on the snowdrifts will take some time. She says they have to bring in some specialized equipment into western Iowa to chip away at the large drifts — some of which were 15-feet high and extended for miles. Hundreds of people had to abandon their cars after getting stuck in the blizzard. Gray-Fisher says they’re working around those vehicles.

Gray-Fisher says they’re still discovering vehicles, but many of the cars and trucks were towed out Saturday evening or Sunday. Gray-Fisher says the sunshine and warm temperatures forecast for the next few days should help crews with the ice and snow packed roads, but she says the snowdrifts are so high in some areas, it will take awhile to knock them down.