NDOT clearing roads after winter storm

RENO, Nev. (KOLO) - If you hang around Mt. Rose Highway long enough you might hear a loud noise.

It’s a man-made avalanche set off by the Nevada Department of Transportation.

“The goal is to bring that snow down, those heavy snow accumulations down in a controlled release where we have traffic safety stopped,” said Meg Ragonese, the NDOT Public Information Officer.

Ragonese says this helps prevent unwanted avalanches that could endanger drivers. After days of heavy snow this winter, you might hear avalanches triggered more often.

“Just this winter alone, because of the heavy precipitation and blizzard conditions, we’ve actually detonated this system about 50 times,” she said.

Part of Mt. Rose Highway opened this morning after a series of avalanches. But it takes more than just an avalanche system to make roads safe and passable.

Snow plows helped cleared Highway 50 and for much of Wednesday, it was the only path across the Sierra.

Many drivers stopped to put chains on their vehicles along the side of the highway.

“Did not realize you guys were gonna get this much snow,” Billy Mohr said as he pulled over.

Mohr is in the process of moving to Nevada and the storm did not give him a warm welcome.

“I looked at the weather forecast and it was saying two inches total,” Mohr said.

“Then I looked at it and it’s a lot more than two inches.”

But Mohr did feel like the roads were safe and soon he was on his way across the mountain.

For the latest road conditions visit NVRoads.com or dial 511.

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