Let's take a look at one of our ODOT cams.
We're gonna look at I5 just South
of downtown. This is at McAdam,
the right side of the screen,
the northbound lanes.
This may very well be the worst spot
in the entire city because traffic
here has been nearly at a standstill
since 5:00 o'clock this evening.
And that is where we find our Catherine Cook.
Catherine, you've been essentially
stuck on that same stretch for
the last five or six hours here.
I mean, so many folks going through
exactly what you are, I should mention,
including the governor's press secretary,
who I've been texting with about this.
So first.
How are you holding up?
And then any sign that's actually
going to get better?
Well, David, thanks for asking.
My photographer and I could
definitely use a bathroom break,
maybe a good stretch and some food.
It has been a very long
time in this car today,
probably about 7 hours like you said.
But really, for the most part, we're good.
Let's flip the camera and show
you what we're looking at.
I have to tell you,
we did not expect to be here
this long and we just started to
move again about 15 minutes ago,
which was really encouraging for us,
but that only lasted for about.
Minute before we stopped once again.
So here is a look back at what
we've seen over the last 7
hours from our point of view.
For more than four hours,
this was our view.
We sat idling on I-5 N near the 405 split,
barely moving, always commiserating.
Before reaching a dead end,
we managed to drive some 6 miles.
Over the course of five hours,
this guy found time to stop and
clean his windshield wipers.
As the snow progressed,
many drivers struggled.
This poor soul stopped in the middle
of I5 to try chaining up his Prius,
clearly unaware at the start of his commute
that this is how it would end up going.
Many drivers hopped out of their rigs,
hoping that,
perhaps with a better view,
traffic would start moving again.
All they got was fresh air mixed
with miles and miles of exhaust
and more waiting the crippling
perils of snow in Portland.
Back live in Southwest Portland.
Hey, look at this. This.
This looks like a familiar view.
Yes, yes, we've been watching this
for the last 7 hours as you just saw.
And it truly, in all seriousness,
you know, we are not the only
ones in this big snowy boat.
And certainly the stretch of I5 isn't the
only part of the metro area that is still
crippled and has been since rush hour.
It's just, it's discouraging, you know?
And I feel for those out there
who may be running out of.
Mass or who've abandoned their cars and
certainly folks out who've decided to just,
you know, walk and see,
see where that leads them.
We had one gentleman come up to our window
and ask if we wanted a bottle of water,
which was very kind of them.
And we we said no, we're good, but.
How long will be good is is left to be seen.
I've. I've no idea.
Frankly, David,
I have no idea how long my
photographer and I will be out here,
how long the rest of us will be
out here on this stretch of I5.
But I sure hope they are able to clear
up the mess that's in front of us,
wherever it
may be. Back to you, Catherine.
We're working to get some answers there.
And you know what?
We appreciate the work you and Corey
have done giving us a front row
view of what so many Portlanders
are going through tonight.
Thank you, Catherine.
Stay safe out there,
however long it takes.
Right further to the north,
our Joe Raineri and his photographer
have been very slowly working
their way back to Portland from
the other side from Vancouver.
So Joe sent us this a few minutes
ago about his long trek home,
which by the way, still isn't over.
We were stuck on the I-5
bridge for nearly two hours.
We finally got off about,
I don't know, 20 minutes ago.
30 minutes ago we saw
traffic rolling pretty well,
and now we're stuck here at exit 3 O 4,
so we're inching closer to the station.
But again, it has been a very long day
and obviously we're not the only ones,
we're just seeing brake lights.
All right, let's talk about
the official response now.
And we're going to be honest here.
It's been hard to get officials
on the phone or to do interviews
late into the evening.
Let's start with the state and O dot,
which says it called in everybody
they could as the storm hit.
But this, in their words,
was a worst case scenario.
So we asked ODOT what people
stuck on the interstates like
Catherine should do right now.
Their advice was to stay in your cars.
There is no ETA for when they'll get
those backups cleared or help on the way.
So here's what a spokesperson
told us earlier.
During our live coverage.
All hands on board to do as much as we can
to focus on the key arterials and that is,
you know what's vital to get not
just people where they need to go,
but freight where they where it needs
to go and and minimize the disruptions.
But there will be disruptions for
the next probably 24 hours because
you know this is the worst case
scenario when you've got this much
precipitation plus such low temperatures.
Well, you heard it first hand there,
worst case scenario for the 24 hours.
From now, at least, ODOT says they
rely on deicer primarily in our area.
They do have a few spots where they use salt.
You can check road conditions
in Oregon at tripcheck.com.
But the overwhelming advice right
now from experts tonight and
into the morning hours do not
head out if you don't have to.