Grapevine closure affects Valley drivers

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Action News recently talked with C.H.P. officers who say the roads are wide open and traffic is moving well.

thats i found it, thanks anywaya big difference for drivers who were stranded and began arriving home to the valley late this afternoon.

Drivers left stranded after a storm shut down Interstate 5 say at best, their travel time was nearly doubled because of the snow, traffic and highway closures.

"All in all it took about 12 hours," said Danielle LeBoug of Fresno.

Drivers describe near white out conditions that caused some to spin out of control and left others struggling to exit the highway.

Danielle LeBouf of Fresno was caught in traffic coming from Palm Desert. She says driving conditions in some areas were worse than others. "Coming in on 58 it was a little bit of black ice we saw one person skid into the median."

It took action news viewer Rachel Ortiz 21 and a half hours to get home to Clovis from Southern California. She snapped pictures and posted them on Facebook while waiting for the roads to open.

When we caught up with Doug Salansky he was sitting at Klein's Truck Stop in Northwest Fresno, unable to pick up a load scheduled for delivery this evening. He says the delay is costing him time and money.

"Frustrating is not the word when you have a time schedule you've got to keep," said Salansky, "If the wheels aren't turning you're not making a dollar. Being an owner operator myself it's hard -- it's a struggle."

Now that traffic is moving, drivers say they will continue to keep a close eye on road conditions. "I have a computer right here I can check out road conditions also there are numbers we can call that tells us what roads are open or closed," said Curt Aldrich of Louisiana.

C.H.P. officers say right now they do not anticipate any overnight closures.