Winter keeps city crews busy

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February 9, 2010

BY BRIAN L. HUCHEL The Commercial-News Tue Feb 09, 2010, 01:00 AM CST

DANVILLE — City of Danville officials are considering their options as winter weather keeps city street crews busy this season.

The area faced the forecast of yet another snow storm on Monday and meteorologists predicted as much as 6 inches of snow could fall central and east central Illinois during Monday night, into this morning and throughout today.

Bob Scott, services and operations manager for the city, said historically Danville sees about 22 winter weather incidents up to this point. But already the city has passed the 25 incidents this winter season.

Scott said the additional snowfall has cut into the city’s supply of salt for the cold weather months, causing officials to look at potential alternatives. Just during the weekend, the street department began combining the salt with sand — a common practice in the Vermilion County Highway Department — and is considering the purchase of more to last through the winter.

According to the Rick Harper, severe weather manager for the Vermilion County Emergency Management Agency, an approaching snow storm is expected to drop anywhere from 6 to 8 inches between Monday evening and tonight.

Coupled with that are expectations that winds will increase to 25-30 mph today and 30-35 mph tonight, causing the snow to blow — which could cause near white-out conditions for drivers — and drift across primarily north-south roads, Harper indicated in an e-mail Monday afternoon.

The National Weather Service canceled Monday’s advisory and issued a winter storm warning for heavy snow.

The highest snowfall totals are expected north of Interstate 74.

Scott said having the snow fall over a 24-36 hour period will help city crews in trying to keep the roads clear. The high winds, however, are a different matter.

“When you’re plowing in that type of environment, you fighting a losing battle,” he said. “You just try to keep the road as passable as you can.”

Crews were already out on Monday spraying the city’s new beet juice mixture that has come into use this winter season. The concoction — already used in a number of cities — acts as an agent to prevent icing.

Street crews and residents aren’t the only people keeping their eyes on the incoming weather right now. Ameren spokesman Leigh Morris said the company monitors the weather, both through the National Weather Service and a private forecasting service.

Winter weather conditions like what is forecast for today and tonight are not ordinarily a worrisome situation for Ameren’s distribution system, Morris said. In these situations, the company’s main problem is the same that faces most residents — driving.

“Something that is of concern is when you get 4, 5 or 7 inches of snow and then throw in 20-30 mph you have particularly outside of cites, some difficult driving conditions,” Morris said, likening a road drifted shut during the winter to a county road blocked by downed trees after a summer storm.

“That could mean if there is a service call to make, it’s going to take longer to get there,” he said.

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