As the St. Louis region braces for an influx of snow, sleet and freezing rain on Thursday — plus sub-zero temperatures — the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT) has tips for those traveling and shares how road crews are preparing.
Joe Monroe, an engineer with IDOT, told KMOX that the Metro East is preparing for three to four inches of snow north of I-70, and two to three inches south of I-70. He said IDOT workers have been pre-treating most of the major transit routes since Wednesday.
"The storm seems to be hanging back a little bit, so we're trying to take advantage," he said. "I think the key is, temperatures are a little warmer than we thought they would be. So we're a little more confident that the free treatment was the right call."
However, he said, at a certain point temperatures will be so low that IDOT's chemicals won't be as effective — especially with the wind forecasted. That means IDOT has a small window to be able to clean up after the snow hits.
"We expect this to be 36 hours," he said. That means there could be blowing and drifting snow into Saturday morning. "So to be cautious, for the motoring public they should be planning that that will be a challenge — just because it stops snowing it will not be the normal cleanup in three or four hours."
"Well, we've taken this storm exceptionally seriously," he added. He said motorists should try to postpone discretionary trips, shop local, and stay home when possible. IDOT is working with EMS, he said, so if there is a health safety event, IDOT will do everything they can to keep roads open.
Hear more from IDOT engineer Joe Monroe on Total Information AM:
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