The northbound lanes of Interstate Five became severely congested Thursday morning. The freeway was closed at Fawndale to big rigs overnight and opened up at 5:30AM Thursday morning but the accumulation took hours before it improved. As of late this morning traffic was backed up as far south as Knighton Road. By noon the problem had thinned out considerably. Cal-Trans has been working a lot of overtime this winter to try and keep traffic moving. They’ve been plowing snow, clearing culverts and drains, pumping water from roadways, cutting dead and downed trees, and removing boulders, all while working inches away from vehicles speeding past them. There were more than 100 short-term road closures statewide just in the past week. There have been special challenges such as nine feet of snow in seven days on Donner Summit and many flooded corridors on the coast and in the valley. The current series of storms has caused an estimated 122 Million Dollars damage. Drivers should allow extra travel time, be extra observant, keep the gas tank full and the windows clear, reduce speed and drive according to conditions.