IDOT, street and highway departments are true heroes in times like these

Jan 11, 2019 12:22 PM Jan 11, 2019 2:55 PM

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City, township and state road transportation crews have been out in force the past 24 hours preparing for the upcoming forecast of heavy snow.

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Residents have been able to see salt going down nearly everywhere in preparation. Matt Taul, superintendent of streets for the City of Edwardsville, said his group started pretreating with brine Thursday and have continued through Friday morning. He said after that, he has full crews working from now until Saturday afternoon when it will hopeful warm up a bit.

Taul said he gets a lot of positive feedback from the Edwardsville community for their work. He said he knows Godfrey, Alton, Wood River, East Alton, Bethalto, Glen Carbon, Jerseyville, Roxana, and all the other municipalities work long days during bad weather. He said he also appreciates the county and state road crews who keep their areas safe during this period.

“I think all of these people are heroes,” he said. “I had one guy scheduled for vacation, but he called and asked if I needed him and he said he would come in. I am lucky to have a really good crew that cares about the quality of work they do.”

The Glen Carbon Police issued this statement: “We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone to use extreme caution when driving in winter weather. Buckle your seat belt, slow down, allow plenty of time to stop, and double your travel time. Leave large amounts of distance between your vehicle and plows. Bridges and overpasses will freeze sooner, and ramps - particularly from I-270 to 157 and 159 - can be very difficult to negotiate when slippery.

“Glen Carbon Public Works has pre-treated all the roadways and plows are standing by. The police dispatchers on duty will be working hard to take calls and get help out as fast and safely as possible, and will coordinate with public works staff for roadway clearing. If you have an emergency, contact 911. All other calls for police or after hours for public works can contact 618-288-7226.”

The Glen Carbon Police have opened a warming station at the department for the weekend, which shows its commitment to the community.

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IDOT - Stay off the roads

Illinois Department of Transportation 8 said whatever you decide this weekend at home, stay off the roads.

“Give emergency workers room to clear the roads,” IDOT said. “The less traffic on the road, the better.”

“Keeping an eye to the skies with weather updates, the District 8 Twitter page has also updated followers with precipitation confirmations. As of 8 a.m., precipitation was confirmed for Madison, Marion, Washington, Monroe, St. Clair and Clinton Counties. At approximately 8:45 a.m., precipitation was confirmed for Jersey and Bond Counties.

“Illinois Department of Transportation District 8 vehicles have been actively working to pretreat areas throughout the region ahead of the impending ice storm. Posts on the organization’s Twitter feed have showcased salt trucks being filled at various depots. The district says that approximately 200 plow trucks and 11 brine units are currently active. “