County Will Lift Rural Travel Ban Thursday; Schools Can Reopen

Antelope County's rural travel ban will be lifted at 6 a.m. Thursday, according to the county's emergency management team. Schools will be able to reopen on Thursday, though administrators and school will need to make phone calls for arrangements on travel.

Emergency Management Director Bob Moore said they are asking all rural travel be limited to 35 mph until further notice. Moore said County Attorney Joe Abler is asking school administrators to meet with driving teens about how to drive on these roads and to pull over to let trucks go by.

Moore  said it will be the school administrators' decisions on whether buses should be taken on the rural roads. He said vans shouldn't have issues on roads that are marked open. 

Casey Dittrich, county road superintendent, handed out maps of open roads to the officials; however, he noted that those maps are currently changing "and not always for the better" because roads that were open Monday may not be open today. 

Dittrich said about 250 miles of county road remains closed with snow fence across many of them. He said 45 volunteers helped map the county on Monday, which expedited the repairs the last couple of days. 

"We're fixing stuff faster than I can update the map," Dittrich said. "Volunteers have been outstanding. I can't say that enough."

Commissioner Charlie Henery said the longterm repair of roads "will be worse this spring than any time." He asked for patience as repairs continue.

"We have to exercise caution," Henery said. 

Moore said a concern remains about "the so many unknowns" with water in the ditches.  Officials said rain is in the forecast on Saturday, so things can change.

Moore also encouraged the schools to remind their students to stay off of their cell phones to alleviate distractions while driving.