Roads clear for the most part

UNDATED - The snow has come and gone... leaving behind a white blanket over much of middle and north Georgia. But major roads - and many secondary roads and side street are free of icy problems.

The Georgia Department of Transporation (GDOT) is still urging caution because there are patches of black ice this morning but all in all... your commute to school or work should be problem-free.

GDOT has singled out a couple of trouble spots in our area: I-85 in Jackson County, in both directions, and U.S. 78 into Athens from Stone Mountain. Most other problem areas are in metro Atlanta: Interstate 20 (both directions) in Rockdale, Newton and Morgan counties; Georgia Highway 3 in Clayton County; U.S. 29 in Dekalb County and I-20 (eastbound) in Fulton County.

Bridges, other overpasses and roadways have been plowed, treated and re-treated throughout the night, but with temperatures well below freezing, they are susceptible to rapid re-icing. Also, difficult-to-detect black ice has been reported in several places and numerous instances of snow-laden trees falling across roadways have been reported.

Georgia DOT recommends that all but emergency or absolutely necessary travel not occur until after sunrise. Officials say that will make it easier to spot black ice (which appears as a shiny, somewhat reflective section of roadway) once the sun rises.

Nearly 1,000 Georgia DOT employees utilizing more than 200 pieces of equipment spent the night clearing and treating road and bridge surfaces.