Government agencies spin wheels clearing roads

State and local government agencies struggled Thursday to clear roadways in the wake of the midweek blizzard, with frigidly cold weather hindering efforts and minimizing the effect of salt.

Many municipal officials said they were getting a handle on at least the major arteries, but blamed the state or county for lagging behind on state highways and other roadways under their jurisdiction.

State Route 83 running north and south through the Northwest and West suburbs was erratically plowed on Thursday morning, and was iced over in areas of Lake County, down to one lane in each direction, as was the case with Routes 12, 21, 22 and 45. In fact, one section of Route 45 in Mundelein called for drivers to navigate the median strip.

After previously being closed, Route 53 found lanes occasionally ending abruptly with snow cover, with traffic forced to merge.

Streamwood Public Works Director Matt Mann said that its local roads were cleared by Wednesday's p.m. rush hour, but the village was still waiting Thursday morning for state- and county-controlled Irving Park, Bartlett and Barrington roads to be cleared.

“They're down to just one lane in each direction in certain parts,” he said, “and we haven't been told when we can expect them to be plowed again.”

Guy Tridgell, spokesman for the Illinois Department of Transportation in Chicago, acknowledged that drifting remained a problem for previously plowed roadways, “especially in outlying suburban areas.” He added that salt had a minimized effect in temperatures under 20 degrees.

“The storm was a challenge,” Tridgell said, “and the cleanup effort is going to take a while. We're telling people to exercise patience and caution. Nobody should expect to go the speed limit today. It's going to be a little while, but we're getting there.”

Cook County issued a short statement to the same effect, that it was working through main roadways and moving a grader and endloader to unincorporated areas where snow needed to be removed entirely, requiring traffic control. “The cleanup process is expected to take several days,” the statement read.

Jessey Neves, spokeswoman for County Board President Toni Preckwinkle, said crews made progress Thursday, “however, we are not quite there yet.” She said Hintz Lane in Wheeling and Central Road near Northwest Community Hospital in Arlington Heights was cleared, but that other areas were still in progress, including Lake-Cook Road at I-294, Lake Street at Pfingsten and Quentin Road at Northwest Highway in Palatine.

“Still, roads are passable,” Neves said. “Some of the four-lane roads still have encroachment of snow, but traffic can flow.”

Tridgell said it is always IDOT policy to get the interstate highways cleared first, then work its way down to state highways, just as cities and villages clear main arteries before working down to side streets.

“The priority is always going to be the expressways, the interstates, getting those moving,” he said.

That offered small solace for suburban drivers. The intersection of Arlington Heights Road and Algonquin Road, Route 62, near the entrance and exit ramps to the I-90 Jane Addams Tollway, was a virtual traffic jam from early morning and into the afternoon partly due to a truck accident, but also because roads were still snow-covered. Those roads were the state's responsibility, according to Arlington Heights officials.

“I went to Mount Prospect (Thursday), and Algonquin Road is bad there, too,” said Arlington Heights Village Manager Bill Dixon. “Something problematic happened to that road so it does not meet the standards of other state routes.”

He said Algonquin was snowpacked in spots, and drifts continued to renarrow Arlington Heights Road, adding, “Here in the village downtown Arlington Heights Road has bare pavement.”

Arlington Heights Mayor Arlene Mulder reported that four-lane Arlington Heights Road was down to one lane going south from Central to Golf Road on Thursday morning.

“They need salt in my opinion. There's a layer of ice southbound. People were being very careful, but going slow,” she said after traveling the stretch on the way to a prayer breakfast. “Our people have been working around the clock. I am sure the state has a lot more roads. It's better than in prior storms because technology has given us a warning, but there's still the sheer challenge of what to do with all that snow.”

Elk Grove Village Mayor Craig Johnson said that Higgins Road, Route 72, was down to one lane in spots, and that when state and county crews do come through, the village has to clean up after them by reopening entries into side streets.

And farther west in Hampshire, Doug Maxeiner, interim village administrator, said portions of Route 72 were entirely closed at Route 47, and also farther west.

Even so, Mulder asked that motorists be patient with roadway recovery efforts. “Don't criticize the crews,” she said. “They're trying their very best.”

Tridgell echoed that, adding, “Don't crowd the plows. We're trying to finish this job as quickly and efficiently as possible.”

And Thursday's road conditions were obviously far, far better than during and right after the storm, when, for example, Elk Grove Village reported 100 stalled cars along Busse Road, Route 83, near Oakton and scores of stranded motorists across the region had to be rescued from their cars.

Area tollways, meanwhile, were clear of snow Thursday, officials said.

“By 9 o'clock (Wednesday) night all of our roads were open,” said tollway spokeswoman Joelle McGinnis. “Our crews worked through the night and into (Thursday), and they wrapped up on shoulders, ramps and in and around toll plazas.”

Tollway Executive Director Kristi Lafleur credited its Snow Operations Team with clearing 286 miles of highway across 12 counties and also thanked drivers for heeding warnings and tending to stay off the tollways during the storm, allowing crews to maneuver efficiently.

The tollway, however, did report 77 crashes from Tuesday into late Wednesday, 512 motorist assists, 33 requests for service, such as cars running out of gas or suffering flat tires, and 133 vehicles towed. Lafleur thanked Gov. Pat Quinn for sending the National Guard to assist with those calls.

Quinn called a successful end to that effort Thursday afternoon, saying some 500 troops were returning to their normal duties. “The troops were out there in the snow and ice making sure every traveler was safe and got the assistance they needed,” he said.

Yet, as of midday, IDOT online maps showed many interstate highways still with patches of ice and snow, especially south of Chicago, with a segment of I-88 after the tollway ends approaching the Quad Cities still snow-covered, as was I-72 west of Springfield. It wasn't until the end of the afternoon that most of the interstates were declared clear, with only a few spots still displaying patches of ice and snow.

“We're still in the early stages of cleaning this up. It's going to take several days,” Tridgell said.

“We haven't really heard a lot of complaints,” he insisted. “I think if anything we've done a very good job up to this point.”

Tridgell said road crews benefited from a relatively light volume of traffic Thursday, and that salt should kick in to melt icy patches as temperatures rise. “This weekend will help, with some of the temperatures reaching up into the 30s,” he added. “That's a welcome sign.”

Like many government entities, the Illinois Emergency Management Agency said it was too early to calculate a total cost for the cleanup. “We're still too busy with the response,” said IEMA spokeswoman Patti Thompson. She added, however, highway rescues had dwindled, giving crews the opportunity to concentrate on clearing the roads.

Ÿ Daily Herald staff writers Debby Donovan, Russell Lissau, Lenore Adkins and Mike Riopell contributed to this story.