Arlington Hts.: Digging out will take twice as long as usual

Arlington Heights police — including two canine units — assisted about a dozen passengers getting off the midnight train at Arlington Park early today.

At the request of police, employees of the public works department plowed a pass so the passengers could get out of the parking lot, said Police Capt. Nicholas Pecora.

The police department has three four-wheel-drive vehicles, so it borrowed four pickups from public works for assisting residents, he said.

About 70 calls overnight were for disabled vehicles, said Pecora.

Only a few cars were towed by the village as hazards, he said, as most drivers were able to arrange their own towing. Some drivers went to the police station to get warm, and officers were able to take some of them home.

The railroad crossings were a particular problem, and the police department had to call Union Pacific three or four times to have them hold up trains because cars were stuck on the tracks.

Arlington Heights Road, Lake-Cook Road and Palatine Road saw four-foot drifts, he said.

Cook County and the Illinois Department of Transportation, which are responsible for the major streets, seemed to abandon Arlington Heights as far as snow removal was concerned overnight, said Pecora, although it is better today.

During the night, public works got an emergency call to clear Central Road — a county road — near Northwest Community Hospital, said Scott Shirley, Arlington Heights director of public works.

Cook County Highway department officials told Arlington Heights they concentrated on Lake-Cook Road, said Shirley.

A car fire on the border with Mount Prospect resulted in a broken water hydrant that geysered on the street at about 3 a.m., said Pecora.

And the only crime reported overnight was a man who reportedly exposed himself.

Streets in Arlington Heights should have two lanes plowed by 11 p.m. Wednesday, said Shirley.

Snow stopped at about 9:30 a.m., and he believes reports that the village got 22 inches.

The plows will not be able to clear curb to curb because they can only pile snow 3 feet high on the parkways.

Visibility got so bad last night that at 9 p.m. the Arlington Heights plows were pulled off the road for about 90 minutes.

Shifts worked 11 a.m.-11 p.m. and 11 p.m.-11 a.m. About 25 people spent the night at the public works building, including eight in a bunk room.

Not even the fire trucks were immune: around 2 a.m. crews had to dig out a fire truck at Dundee Road and Carriageway Drive.

Snow removal in Arlington Heights usually takes about eight hours after a storm ends, but this one will take 16 hours because of the severity, Village Manager Bill Dixon said Wednesday morning.

“The good news is many, many people stayed home. That will help as we start clean up,” he said.

Much of the village is without power, including Village Hall, which is that is operating on a generator, said Mayor Arlene Mulder.

Plows are moving more slowly than usual because of the depth of the snow and drivers’ attempts to not cover sidewalks, she said.

“Everything is getting done a little bit slower,” she said.

Illinois Department of Transportation plows are working on Arlington Heights Road, said Dixon.

The Northwest Municipal Conference — a consortium of more than 50 North and Northwest suburbs — had an early morning conference call, and other mayors are very interested in how beet juice works for thawing ice on the streets, said Mulder.

Arlington Heights is one of a few municipalities using it, and has been pleased with its effectiveness and lower cost.

Shirley has noticed at least one gas station open, the Speedway at the Corner of Palatine and Arlington Heights Road.