Driving on a washboard in Lake County
How ugly were the roads in Lake County early Thursday?
So bad that Illinois Department of Transportation spokesman Mike Claffey called descriptions of the surfaces -- many of which were covered in thick sheets and strips of ice for miles at a time -- "bizarre."
"Obviously we got an incredible amount of snow in the north of our area," Claffey said.
Plenty of that snow remained compacted on Lake County roads Thursday, giving motorists bumpy and often slow rides.
It also trapped several vehicles, including a semitrailer truck on Route 120 at O'Plaine Road near Waukegan in the morning. Westbound traffic was backed up for more than a mile by the stalled truck.
State roads such as Route 60/83 and Route 137 were particularly bad, officials said.
By midafternoon, however, the ice and snow had been cleared from many of the major roads. Plenty of side streets and residential roads also were clear -- or, at least, clearer.
In the Libertyville area, for example, motorists on some sections of Butterfield Road were able to drive on asphalt by midafternoon, while other sections, particularly in the Vernon Hills area, were still difficult to negotiate.
Driving on Route 176 was much easier by that time, too, although still challenging in places.
Route 45 in Grayslake was fine by the afternoon. So was much of Milwaukee Avenue, where even the turn-lane medians had been cleared of ice and snow.
That wasn't the case, however, on Route 137, which still was testing automobile suspension and steering systems as the sun started to set. The surface was topped by long rails of ice and chunky frozen sheets that stretched for blocks.
Fifty-seven IDOT trucks, including 18 deployed from southern Cook County, were out overnight Wednesday and again Thursday in continued efforts to clear the state-controlled roadways.
"When we have an event like that, it takes time," Claffey said.
Concerned about the storm's effects, Lake County legislators were in contact with IDOT officials starting Wednesday afternoon.
The conversations came about a year after state Sen. Terry Link of Waukegan and state Rep. Kathy Ryg of Vernon Hills demanded answers from IDOT officials following a snowstorm in December 2006.
Back then, equipment and manpower wasn't sent to Lake County in a timely manner because of a communications gap, Ryg recalled.
A direct link has since been established to crews in Lake County, according to Ryg, who is on the contact list.
Link called the communication with IDOT "excellent" this time.
"They notified us immediately of what was going on," he said.
Thursday's problems weren't limited to state roads.
Lake County Transportation Division crews had been working nonstop since Tuesday afternoon to keep the roads clean.
Delaney Road near Zion and Kilbourne Road near Wadsworth were among the worst roads county crews came across during Thursday morning's assault, said Kevin Kerrigan, an engineer of maintenance with the transportation division.
Trucks were on all 25 county plow routes Thursday, Kerrigan said.
Those rigs have plenty of salt for the roads. More than 1,000 tons of salt are in the county's storage dome in Libertyville and 5,000 more tons have been ordered, Kerrigan said.
The county uses 11,000 tons to 20,000 tons of road salt during a typical winter, Kerrigan said. So far this year, his teams have gone through more than 17,000 tons.
Some local communities reported road salt shortages Thursday. In Grayslake, only major roads were dusted with salt because of dwindling supplies. Vernon Hills officials said many streets will remain snow covered.
The poor road conditions didn't just impact commuters. The Illinois secretary of state's office suspended road tests Thursday at facilities throughout the state, including those in Libertyville and Waukegan.
With only light snowfall expected over the next few days, Claffey said he hoped the weather will cooperate long enough to allow the plow and salt truck drivers to do their jobs.
"And it would be really nice if we could get some sun out there," he said.