Vehicles stranded over wide area in east Arkansas

12:47 p.m. UPDATE:

WEST MEMPHIS — Gov. Mike Beebe says state agencies are responding to motorists stuck on a pair of east Arkansas interstates for hours because of snow and ice.

Beebe says the National Guard and State Police are checking on motorists to ensure no one is having a medical emergency. Game and Fish workers are taking gasoline out to motorists who have run out.

Snow and ice swept through the area Sunday and early Monday, and temperatures in the teens have kept the road slick. A number of traffic accidents have caused delays.

Beebe's office says construction on Interstates 40 and 55 have contributed to the delays.

EARLIER:

Some drivers in eastern Arkansas were stranded overnight because of lingering icy conditions from the weekend winter storm.

Arkansas Highway Department spokesman Randy Ort said Tuesday that traffic can't get moving consistently because of repeated accidents. Conditions may improve later in the day, but Ort said with temperatures in the teens and single digits overnight, crews are limited in what they can accomplish.

Ort noted that road salt is ineffective when temperatures drop below 22 degrees.

Interstate 55 between West Memphis and the Missouri border is clogged with ice and stalled vehicles, as is Interstate 40 from Forrest City eastward. Construction zones, including one in West Memphis, affect both I-40 and I-55.

Ort said crews have contended with jackknifed tractor-trailers and stalled vehicles.

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