A snow calamity warning was declared for several roads in northern Slovakia on Thursday, January 16. In particular, the alert affected the D3 motorway and R5 and I/11 roads in Žilina Region, National Highway Company (NDS) operations director Milan Gajdoš said at a press briefing.
Police Corps vice-president Ľubomír Ábel added that the worst situation was encountered on the I/11 road, which leads to the Czech border at Svrčinovec. "The border crossing is accessible only to passenger vehicles," Ábel said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The border crossing with Poland at Trstená (Žilina Region), to which the I/59 road connects, was reported to be accessible to both passenger and freight traffic.
A complicated situation also emerged on the I/18 road leading to the Makov border crossing with the Czech Republic. Abel reported that lorries which had been stopped at lay-bys at Hrádok, Sverepec and Beluša were not being allowed to proceed any further. "The situation keeps changing every hour," Gajdoš warned drivers. He added that the NDS had already dispatched 384 employees and 226 vehicles to the area.
The Sme daily on Thursday forecast that snow would continue to fall across northern Slovakia until Friday afternoon.
Sources: TASR, Sme
Compiled by Zuzana Vilikovská from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
