First snow of season challenges Lake County
December announced its presence Monday as about 3 inches of wet, slushy, slick snow blanketed the ground overnight.
While the conditions didn't seem too bad, the first storm of the season did pose a challenge for village, township, county and state crews, who are being conservative with road salt put on the ground to help melt the snow away. The high cost and shortage of salt first discovered in the summer has forced officials to cut back on the amount of salt purchased for this winter.
Whatever new strategies Lake County crews used Monday seem to have worked, as the wind and snow caused only minor accidents. Officials say there were more than a dozen after 6 a.m.
Illinois Department of Transportation spokeswoman Marissa Kollias said safety was not compromised despite keeping the amount of salt spread on roadways to a minimum.
She said IDOT had 350 trucks out plowing and spreading salt on state roads throughout the night. But, she said IDOT is using less salt at night when fewer cars are on the roads.
"At 4 a.m., we use more salt to get roads ready for the morning rush hour," she said. "Our job is to make sure the roads are clear and passable and we continue to do the best we can to do that."
Roads were also passable in Lincolnshire, Libertyville, Mundelein and in northern Lake County as street crews worked overnight to keep the lanes clear.
Lincolnshire crews used a mixture of salt and beet juice. Chemicals in the juice additive help break down the ice, allowing the town to extend its salt supply.
"It's not bad at all," village Public Works Director Jennifer Hughes said Monday.
Public works crews in Mundelein also reduced the amount of salt they used, officials said.
Trucks would drop 400 to 600 pounds of salt per mile in previous years, Public Works Director Kenneth Miller said. They spread between 100 and 200 pounds per mile during Monday's snowfall.
In Vernon Hills, public works crews started salting and plowing at 10:30 p.m. Sunday and kept at it past the Monday morning rush.
"We had everything plowed by 7:30 a.m.," Public Works Director Ed Laudenslager said.
The crews conserved road salt, using less than in previous years, he said. Early in the storm workers only applied salt in select locations, such as on main roads, curves and at intersections. Later in the storm they spread salt in more locations but used less than in previous winters, Laudenslager said.
Libertyville Public Works Director John Heinz reported no major problems on the streets his crews plow in town. Traffic congestion Monday morning kept some plows from moving as swiftly as he would've liked, though.
As is the case in Vernon Hills and other suburbs, Libertyville crews are conserving road salt by using less of it on side streets, he said.
"We have plenty of salt," Heinz said. "It's just a matter of how bad the winter gets."
In northern Lake, Grant Township Highway Department Supervisor Kimber Kiesgen said she may have purchased less salt this year, but she isn't changing the 50/50 mix of salt and sand she has used over the years.
"With all the lakes we have up here, we use a 50/50 split of salt and sand anyway," she said. "We should be all right as long as we don't get hit as hard as we did last year."
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