Update: Northbound I-5 heavily congested for miles south of Eugene

UPDATE:

ODOT issued an update around 2:17 p.m. asking motorists to delay travel.

Although the interstate is open, the delay is so long and the forecast so severe, ODOT urges travelers to delay their trips. The coldest temperatures of this ice storm are forecast for Monday night, and freezing rain is expected Tuesday. Crews have applied more deicer and salt, and made more passes in this section with plows than they have in a decade or more. These tools are limited in this severe weather.

A major factor in the slowdown is vehicles not chaining up or stopping to chain up in the travel lanes. Law enforcement has begun to cite violators of the chain law.

Alternate routes are not viable because they are less maintained in winter weather and also impacted by this ice storm.

If you cannot reschedule your trip for later this week, bring chains and be prepared to put them on your vehicle. And be prepared for hours of delay due to severe packed ice and traffic coming to a standstill for long periods. Also, be aware that towns south of Eugene may have power failures and fuel stations could run out of fuel - or even places to park.

Due to icy conditions, northbound Interstate 5 is experiencing heavy stop-and-go traffic congestion spanning several miles south of Eugene.

According to ODOT:

Although the interstate is open, delays can last hours, and temperatures are forecast to fall Monday night to their lowest of this ice storm. Please reschedule your trip to later this week if possible because alternate routes are also affected by this storm and freezing rain is forecast for Tuesday.

This comes after a traffic jam last night from around 5 p.m. last night.

According to one of our staff who was there, those caught in the jam slept in their cars until 4:30 a.m.

Police had to wake up drivers.