SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — With I-90 and I-29 both closed early Tuesday starting at Sioux Falls, truck stops all over town were filled with Truck Drivers waiting out the storm.

But finding a safe place to park or even just getting off the interstate safely was a challenge for many drivers.

“I can deal with snow, I just don’t like ice,” truck driver Mario Clay said. 

Mario Clay made it up from Omaha this morning with little trouble, but once he got to Sioux Falls he knew it was time to stop.

“I was going to pull into a truck stop over that way, but it was all packed and then I pulled into Loves over there and it was all packed and I had to get turned around because I would have gotten stuck and there were trucks everywhere,” Clay said.

When interstates are closed, Clay says finding a safe place to park a semi is always the biggest concern.

“I said oh boy, do I really want to pull in here? I seen it was snow drifting here, so once I pulled in I kept on going, I said I’m not stopping, I’m not stopping at all, I seen him stuck so I said well I better keep going,” Clay said.

“This is the second time I’m stuck,” Kyle Andreae said. “I had to get fuel, but this parking lot hasn’t been plowed so we’re standing in like a foot of snow right now, so I’m stuck again.”

This is the second time Kyle Andreae has shoveled out his truck in Sioux Falls today after getting stuck on the north side of town early this afternoon.

“I called a local commercial towing company because I was in the middle of the road blocking traffic, so I got someone on the phone and I could hear three different lines running in the background, he asked for a call back number and I still haven’t heard back, it’s been at least 3 hours since I made that call,” Andreae said.

The long wait for tow trucks had many people taking matters into their own hands, helping each other out of the parking lot.

“I was afraid to pull in here and that’s why,” Clay said.

Multiple trucks were stuck in the parking lot of a truck stop along the Tea exit and I-29 in Sioux Falls; some were able to be pulled out, but it wasn’t easy.

“It’s a lot of work and it’s cold,” Andreae said. “I’m light, I’m empty right now, so just some bad decisions, not filling up before, not planning ahead of time.”

“I’m thinking about that now, I should have stayed in my hotel, yes I should have done that,” Andreae said. “I should have just stayed in the hotel because now I’m going to end up staying here and starting the whole process over again tomorrow.”

I-29 north of Sioux Falls re-opened Tuesday evening but is closing once again during the overnight hours. I-90 remains closed from Sioux Falls to Chamberlain.