As temperatures dropped, black ice became an issue

Despite the best efforts of road crews, black ice became an ever bigger challenge as the temperature dropped; and that meant accidents.

New Hanover County had more than it fair share of weather related accidents Tuesday night.

On Myrtle Grove Road, the driver of a Jeep was okay, despite the Jeep landing on its side around 8:00 p.m.

On Pine Grove Road, the driver of a SUV hit a patch of ice during an attempt to deliver Chinese food. The SUV crashed through a fence next to the Municipal Golf Course, and the car ended up – not in the fairway, but in the rough.

These two accidents reflect a small sampling of accidents Tuesday evening around the Cape Fear region. Meanwhile, Interstate 40 seemed to be one of the safest places to travel.

One reason for that; it resembled a ghost town. News Channel 3 had to stand by and wait two minutes for a car to come by.

It was the same story in downtown Burgaw. We waited ten minutes on the south side of the courthhouse for activity.

But that is good news, when DOT salt trucks had the road to themselves.

Maintenance supervisor, Gerald Walker said, “Some of the roads have ice on them, along with the bridges. That will continue as the temperature goes down. We’ll be here through tonight though, for the traveling public.”

In Pender County crews put down salt, and pushed the snow off road where it’s needed.

The bottom line is this when it concerns travel in the Cape Fear region, you need to be careful, drive slow, or better yet, stay at home.

Some of the best advice for Wednesday morning is to give yourself extra time, take it slow, allow plenty of distance between you and the vehicle in front of you, and be extra careful on bridges.