Truck Drivers Anxious To Hit The Road Again

Sioux Falls, SD

Interstate 29 is back open after the weekend blizzard closed it all the way from Sioux Falls to the Canadian border. Truckers who were stranded overnight are glad to be getting back to work on Monday.

"About 60 mile-an-hour winds started pushing me across the interstate. Once I got up here, they shut the roads down last night (Sunday) around seven o'clock, saying no one was allowed north 40 miles of here," truck driver Lionel James said. 

James came from Salt Lake City, Utah, up through Nebraska. He's on his way to Clearbrook, Minnesota. The load he's bringing the city close to the Canadian border will be especially appreciated with this winter weather.

"Right now I'm hauling a load of salt that's needed for the roads. Salt that keeps the sidewalks clear, safety salt," James said. 

Dozens of trucks are hitting the roads again Monday morning, after being forced to stop in Sioux Falls for the night.

"If it would've been opened, I would have kept going through," truck driver Jerry Renander said.

Renander is a veteran trucker. He says you don't get a two-million mile sticker, like his, without taking some extra precautions on the open road.

"Safety is more important than anything. Speed or the product," Renander said. "You just don't get two-million miles safe driving by doing something stupid. So, you take your time and if the roads are bad, you shut down," Renander said. 

While both men say they would've kept going if the interstate hadn't been shut down, they are used to letting Mother Nature call the shots.

"It's hard on the equipment but it's also a blessing because when it does snow, it's so cold the snow doesn't stick to the road. It just blows off. But if you've got too much snow, you've got ground blizzard effect and you can't do anything," Renander said.

According to Safe Travel USA's website, all roads are now open for travel in South Dakota.

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