St. Louis and St. Louis County officials are making headway clearing roads after this weekend’s winter storm that dumped more than 8 inches of snow across the region.
With schools and governmental buildings closed Monday, St. Louis and St. Louis County plow trucks have had more space to clear off the snow from a storm that stretched from Saturday morning to Sunday afternoon.
Benjamin Jonsson, who serves as St. Louis Mayor Cara Spencer’s chief operating officer, said the city has plowed around 450 miles of snow routes – including primary and secondary routes. He also said contractors were plowing some residential streets, which is a major change from the way the city had handled snowstorms.
He also said city officials will be turning their attention to alleys so that refuse trucks can pick up trash later this week.
“So not every side street has been hit,” Jonsson said. “But in every neighborhood, there are side streets and residential roads that have been plowed. Typically, residents will see a center lane plowed to enable people to get out.”
Dave Wrone, a spokesman for the St. Louis County Department of Transportation, said more than 100 trucks spent the weekend clearing off the county’s roads.
He said the conditions of those roads range anywhere from “fair to good,” noting the lack of freezing rain from the storm made things less complicated for plow truck drivers.
“I wouldn't say that any of our streets are treacherous,” Wrone said. “You're most likely going to encounter snow in some areas. But in terms of drivability the system overall is in fair to good shape.”
Both Wrone and Jonsson said it’s been helpful that scores of schools and governmental buildings closed Monday – and many St. Louis residents worked from home. That gives plow trucks more space to clear roads.
But Jonsson did add that the freezing temperatures are creating some challenges. For instance: He said the cold made it difficult to deploy salt. So Jonsson advised commuters not to go on the roads – which he described as of Monday morning as slick.
“Even just using the salt, we are creating some slush out there,” Jonsson said. “And we need our vehicles to be able to get to that slush and push it out of the way, so we don't end up with the refreezing and have some sort of an ice lasagna out there where you get a melt, a refreeze, a melt and a refreeze. So that's why we're putting all of our attention and getting the compound to work with that snowpack that's there and then be able to move it out of the way over the next 12 and 24 hours.”
Roads improving in Illinois
Illinois Department of Transportation officials said Monday that Illinois roads are passable and will continue to improve through the end of the day Tuesday.
Joseph Monroe with IDOT District 8, which includes the Metro East, said pavement temperatures have reached 20 degrees, meaning salt and calcium chloride treatments can melt snow and ice more quickly. Monroe said crews started treating interstates and other state-maintained roads early Monday morning to avoid chemicals packing into the road and freezing over the weekend.
Monroe told STLPR on Friday that he chose not to pretreat Metro East roads to allow his plow drivers to clear roads longer without having to refill the chemicals.
He also said motorists can expect state routes with more topographical challenges to be cleared by the end of the day Tuesday, with ramps cleared last.
“Think about how you drive a ramp,” Monroe said. “You're kind of grinding the snow into the pavement, so the chemicals will have to work for extended periods of time for us to be able to peel it all off.”
Monroe asks drivers to be patient with road crews that have been working up to 16 hours a shift to clear main thoroughfares.
“I realize the pavement's in better shape (and) you can drive the speed limit, but the plows will not be doing the speed limit to be able to get the chemical down,” Monroe said. “Realize there's an inherent speed differential between your vehicle at the posted speed limit and how fast our trucks will typically be running.”
Illinois State Police said Monday that they responded to 162 accidents on state-managed highways in the Metro East on Saturday and Sunday, including six personal-injury calls. A statement from the state police asks drivers to refrain from unnecessary travel as severe weather and road conditions persist.
“The bitter cold and large snow amounts forecasted this weekend for parts of the state can lead to dangerous driving conditions that could put not only your life at risk, but the lives of troopers and other law enforcement officers, emergency services, tow truck drivers and anyone else on the roads,” ISP Director Brendan F. Kelly said in a statement. “If you must go out, give yourself extra time, go slow and have an emergency kit in your vehicle.”
