ST. LOUIS – Road crews on both sides of the river are getting ready to battle the approaching winter storm. The heaviest of that snow will come in during the overnight hours, meaning Wednesday’s commute will be tough to say the least.
Crews in Florissant are ready to go.
“We’ve had a few new guys go through and get their CDL licenses, and we’re fully staffed, ready to go. We’re loading up right now. Staff on standby for tonight when everything comes in,” said Florissant Street Superintendent Jason Timme.
Timme says his best-case scenario is that the snow moves in and out fast and his crews can get to work clearing it away.
“Good tip is for people to keep your cars off the street if possible. Give the plows room to get in there and get the streets wide, cleared out so they are passable for a couple lanes of traffic.”
MoDOT says crews will head out as the weather starts and stay out for as long as it takes to clear the roads.
“We’re not going to do any pre-treatment ahead of this because there might be some rain or anything like that,” said Bob Becker, MoDOT District Maintenance Engineer for the St. Louis District. “So, this will mainly be a pushing event. We’ll be out there ready to when it starts coming down. We’ll start working the plows and pushing things off the road.”
As always, MoDOT is urging drivers to be aware of changing road conditions Wednesday morning.
“It is going to be a wet, heavy snow. When that snow is coming off the plows, it’s a lot of snow, a lot of weight. Don’t try to pass any of our plows,” Becker said.
In Illinois, IDOT is working now to make roads safe during and after the snow.
“We’re actually focusing on trying to get the potholes filled. With it being forecast as a wet, heavy snow then temperatures in subsequent days actually cooling off, we’re really trying to make sure we’re in good shape coming out of the storm,” said District 8 Operations Engineer Joe Monroe.
Monroe also says IDOT will not be pre-treating due to the rain forecasted at the start of the storm.
MoDOT, IDOT, and all street crews ask you to give them the room they need to work safely. Be sure to leave early if you have to get out Wednesday morning.
Missouri Traveler Information Map
Illinois Traveler Information Map