photo by: Kim Callahan/Journal-World

A Lawrence Police Department patrol vehicle is pictured June 28, 2022.

Between noon Saturday and 9 a.m. Monday, the Lawrence Police Department has responded to 56 noninjury crashes, three injury crashes and 140 stranded motorists.

Main roads have been mostly cleared but are snow packed, the department said in a Facebook post. Side streets and neighborhood streets may still be difficult to navigate.

Police warned motorists that if they leave their home they should allow for plenty of travel time and for plenty of room for stopping distance while driving. Also, drivers should be aware that the streets are “littered with abandoned vehicles” that were trapped over the weekend.

The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office said Monday that it had responded to 54 motorists assist since noon Saturday, as well as 15 noninjury crashes and four injury crashes.

There were no 911 calls that deputies could not get to, but most of the activity involved helping drivers who had trouble navigating the difficult conditions, especially on state highways in the county. Maj. Steve Buchholz said the road conditions were the worst he had seen in his nearly 27 years with the sheriff’s office – especially with the whiteout and blizzard conditions west of Lawrence on U.S. Highway 40.

The icy conditions on Saturday and the blowing snow conditions Sunday caused the most trouble for drivers on the state highways, especially in the county, the sheriff’s office said.

“Like most agencies and KDOT, we did warn drivers especially Sunday evening to stay off the roads, because it would be difficult to get to vehicles in ditches. Tow trucks were not running, and deputies had to leave cars where they were,” the office said.

Deputies on patrol helped give rides to corrections staff and medical staff for their shifts at the jail.