U.S. Highway 160 was closed for about 30 minutes Monday morning for a crash and icy road conditions west of Durango, from city limits to Hesperus.
The Colorado Department of Transportation reopened the road about 8:30 a.m.
The Ignacio School District announced a two-hour delay to start classes this morning.
The National Weather Service issued a freezing rain advisory until noon Monday for Durango, Bayfield and Ignacio.
La Plata County Road and Bridge crews have been sanding roads since 3 a.m., but they are unable to keep up with deteriorating conditions, said Megan Graham, spokeswoman for the county.
"The short answer is all county roads are in bad shape," she said. "Everything paved is black ice." She said gravel roads were "blue ice."
Crews were working Wildcat Canyon (County Road 141) Monday morning, but they diverted resources about 8:50 a.m. to County Road 125, where multiple vehicles went off the road or became stranded. The road was closed from about 9 to 9:50 a.m.
"The conditions are beyond what we're able to respond to with the resources that we have," Graham said. "They're trying to get ahead of it."
Surface temperatures were above freezing at the Durango-La Plata County Airport, but United Airline flights from Denver were delayed as a result of issues in Denver, said Tony Vicari, interim director of the Durnago airport. Deicing of planes also was causing minor delays, he said.
Cold temperatures turned spitting rain into a "sheet of ice" early Monday, said Lisa Schwantes, spokeswoman with CDOT.
"We've got our plow trucks out and we're sanding that stretch of road as much as we can," she said. "We just ask folks to use caution and slow down."
Chain laws were in effect for commercial vehicles on Wolf Creek and Red Mountain passes.
shane@durangoherald.com
