Black ice halts traffic into and out of the city

Portions of I-64 shut down, while I-79 sees five major accidents

With portions of Interstate 64 shut down and widespread accidentsalong Interstate 79, traffic was backed up for hours this morningalong most major roads coming in and out of Charleston.

Black ice that formed overnight caused the first snags on I-79about 5 a.m. Officials with the Kanawha County Sheriff's Departmentsaid the roadway looked like an ice rink in some places and a parkinglot in others.

People at some points had parked their vehicles or were turningtheir cars around and driving in the wrong direction down the highwayto escape the traffic problems, officials said.

Conditions on the …