Drivers Stuck For Hours On Highway 69 In Pittsburg County Due To Winter Weather

Drivers were stuck for hours on northbound Highway 69 between McAlester and Eufaula on February 23.

A state trooper said this was the worst congestion the Oklahoma Highway Patrol dealt with during the winter storm.

Troopers said the standstill traffic on Highway 69 started around 2:30 p.m. and reopened a little before 9 p.m. News On 6 storm tracker, Von Castor, captured video of the hundreds of vehicles stuck in traffic.

Highway 69 between McAlester and Eufaula had such a buildup of sleet that cars were stuck in it, then semi-trucks got stuck because their brake lines started freezing up, according to troopers.

OHP said there was also a crash earlier in the afternoon in front of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation yard on Highway 69, so ODOT trucks could not get out to clear the roads.

Officials ended up diverting traffic into McAlester and onto Highway 270, but there was still congestion on Highway 69 between the McAlester and Crowder exits.

News On 6 talked to a driver who was stuck from 5 until 8 p.m. Melinda Jewell works in McAlester and was trying to get home to Crowder.

Jewell said her drive usually takes about 20 minutes, but tonight it took her three hours.

“It’s just been nerve-racking, knowing that I can’t move,” said Jewell. “You kind of feel like you’re helpless.”

ODOT and Pittsburg County Emergency Management also looked for cars that were stuck in the sleet and ice to help move them to a safer area.