Road crews continued to work Tuesday in the aftermath of last weekend’s major snowstorm, and reports from various counties revealed significant progress was being made.

But a number of major arteries in Beckley and Raleigh County remained in rough shape. Kanawha Street in Beckley was still covered by chunks of snow and ice, and parts of Robert C. Byrd Drive from Bradley and Sophia had only one lane cleared each way. Both are state-maintained roadways.

Terry Worley, superintendent for Beckley’s Board of Public Works, said the snow was deep, heavy and wet.

“The problem is the snow is 22 inches deep, and once we push it off, there’s a good inch of ice or more underneath,” Worley said. “That’s what the trucks are spinning on.”

At least nine trucks are out running 24 hours a day, he said.

“It’s taking some time, but we’re making a big push today to try to get everything plowed at least two cars wide,” Worley said Tuesday.

“Truck breakdowns are minimal and we have plenty of salt. I believe we are going to see a big improvement now that the sun is out.”

State crews continued working on a few primary roads and were starting to begin work on secondary roads Tuesday, according to Alan Reed from the Division of Highways’ District 10 office.

“We’re working on it as quickly as we can,” the assistant district engineer over maintenance explained. “The heavy snowfall makes it difficult for our trucks to push, but we are using extra equipment.”

Reed said while some vehicles have been towed, there are still a number blocking highways and causing danger.

He added that primary roads in Wyoming County are “pretty much clear,” and crews there are working secondary roads.

Meanwhile, Raleigh County Emergency Services Director Jack Bowden said shelters set up during the height of the storm were empty but on standby.

“Our 911 calls are way down and it has slowed the same for shelters,” he said. “The National Guard is still pulling people out of ditches and helping with abandoned vehicles and shut-ins. We hope to soon be able to relieve them from that duty.”

In Fayette County, all primary roads are in “good shape,” Emergency Services Director Steve Cruikshank said late Tuesday afternoon.

The secondary roads remain in fair shape as crews continue to plow.

“I think we pretty much got all of the abandoned vehicles identified, picked up or towed to a location where they can get them,” Cruikshank said.

He said abandoned vehicles left on the roadways had to be moved for the safety of motorists.

While road conditions continue to improve throughout Fayette County, Cruikshank says motorists need to keep any eye out for pedestrians.

“I’ve come across a lot of people walking in the road because the sidewalks are under a ton of snow,” he said.

Anyone who plans to be walking on a roadway should remember to wear light reflective clothing, he added.

“We’re making progress. It doesn’t appear that the thawing is going to be fast enough to create flooding problems,” Cruikshank said.

“I think we’re in pretty good shape until Christmas Eve. Christmas on through the weekend, it’s probably going to get bad again.”

Things are pretty much “back to normal” in Summers County, Sheriff Ed Dolphin says.

According to Dolphin, the main roads were clear Tuesday as back roads were being worked on.

“We didn’t have any calls today or yesterday from people needing services, so hopefully we will be all right in another day or so,” the sheriff said.

Shelters in Summers County have been closed.

Likewise, Raymond Waid, acting Greenbrier County Division of Highways administrator, said crews have been over all the roads at least once.

“The main roads are pretty well clear. We are just going back over them, widening them out and treating icy spots,” he explained.

Waid said DOH still had some work to do on some of the back roads but hopefully all of them would be cleared today.

According to DOH officials in Monroe County, all main roads and secondary roads are clear.

“We’re not even calling night shift in tonight,” Patricia Allen, DOH office assistant, said.

“Some of our dirt and gravel roads are still a bit covered but have been pushed. We are actually pushing back shoulders at the edge of the road now on toward the ditch line.”

Rodney Evans, deputy director at the Nicholas County Emergency Operations Center, said conditions were similar there.

“The main roads are fine,” he said. “There are still some secondary roads that are a little rough, but most of them are doing OK.”’

— E-mail: cclark@register-herald.com and jayres@register-herald.com