With snow in the forecast, what kind of road conditions can we expect in southwest IL?
With a forecast of possibly 2 to 4 inches of snow in the first snowstorm in the metro-east this weekend, local road maintenance crews say they are ready.
Salt supplies in good shape? Check.
Snow plow crews lined up to work 12-hour shifts? Check.
So what can drivers expect to see on their roads? Highway maintenance crews believe it will be cold enough for snow to stick on roadways Friday night and Saturday despite some of the moderate temperatures in the past couple of days.
Madison County Engineer Adam Walden said one of his main concerns is the possibility of high winds beginning early Saturday morning. This could cause snow to drift over rural roads that have been plowed and then drivers have to watch out for refreezing.
Walden noted, however, that this snow may be on the heavy or wet side so it may not drift as much as drier snow.
“I like to prepare people for the worst-case scenario,” Walden said. “Drivers who drive along open fields should pay attention to drifting snow and refreezing.”
Norm Etling, the St. Clair County engineer, has this advice for motorists: “stay home” if at all possible during the storm.
“If it’s icy, don’t go out,” Etling said.
But if you do have to travel, Jason Poole, the Public Works Department director in Belleville, asks motorists to leave plenty of room for the snow plow truck drivers to do their job.
“You’re just going to have to be patient with the road crews,” Poole said.
“Give yourself extra room between you and the vehicle ahead of you and stay clear of our snow plows because they throw salt everywhere and they have a hard time seeing you sometimes.”
Poole said he checks the six weather apps on his phone to monitor forecasts as he lines up his staff to work during snowstorms. This weekend, drivers will work 12-hour shifts to cover eight routes throughout the city and two other drivers will work to clear the police station and fire station driveways.
Etling said he already has had crews pretreating bridges with a saline solution. St. Clair County will have two crews of 10 drivers working 12-hour shifts. There also will be a mechanic on duty for each shift.
Madison County will have two crews of 12 each working 12-hour shifts for this storm along with mechanics, Walden said.
Joseph Monroe, the operations engineer for the Illinois Department of Transportation’s District 8 that has 11 counties including the metro-east, said the agency will have 300 people working in shifts for this weekend’s storm. The district’s staffing is down somewhat from previous winters but Monroe said, “We’re good.”
He described the available staff size as “nothing that should be detrimental to our efforts.” He added that it may take crews a little longer than usual to clear snow off shoulders.
The staffing size has been trending up compared to a few weeks ago and workers who had COVID-19 have been returning to work, Monroe said.
While Belleville, St. Clair County, Madison County and IDOT officials say they have staffers ready to work this weekend, the Missouri Department of Transportation said in a news release on Thursday that staffing is “still short across the state due to turnover and sickness.”
The Illinois highway maintenance crews all report they have good supplies of salt and brine solutions.
The Illinois Department of Transportation has an online map to check for winter road conditions at www.gettingaroundillinois.com/WinterConditions.
The Missouri Department of Transportation has a website that lists winter road conditions at traveler.modot.org.
This story was originally published January 14, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
