Motorists urged to stay off roads

City, county and state officials are continuing to urge residents to keep off the roads today. The cities of Anniston, Oxford, Jacksonville, Piedmont and Weaver closed all roads Wednesday and urged motorists to stay inside until the warmer temperatures could thaw out the streets later today. Calhoun County Engineer Brian Rosenbalm said the Alabama Department of public Safety officially closed and barricaded Cottaquilla Road, Whites Gap Road and parts of Choccolocco Road, but said the county wanted residents to stay off all roads in the county if possible. Rosenbalm said four sand trucks were working to melt ice on the county’s major roads. Alabama Department of Transportation spokesman Tony Harris said residents statewide should consider all roads hazardous, and should avoid travel if possible. In Etowah  County Authorities are still trying to clear local roads.  Gadsden Public Works Assistant Director Mike Hilton said his department is working double shifts to sand the roads to make them passable, but only for first responders and emergency personnel. He said unless there’s a medical emergency, nobody needs to be driving.  Hilton said his department has neither the sand nor the equipment to make most roads suitable to drive on. He said his department has been working on improving Fourth Street, Broad Street, East Broad Street, South 11th Street, Tuscaloosa Avenue, Forrest Avenue and North Eighth Street so that emergency personnel can use them.  Noccalula Road has been cleared of the gridlock of abandoned vehicles, but Hilton said the back side of the mountain remains impassable. Gadsden Police Capt. Bobby Jackson said there were at least 63 accidents in the city Tuesday, although fortunately only three involved injuries.