By Eric Stock
BLOOMINGTON – Central Illinois roads are snow covered but passable following a light winter storm on Tuesday night.
The National Weather Service reports 3.5 inches of snow fell near Bloomington as of early Wednesday. Peoria received two inches, Champaign got three inches, Macon County saw four inches and Springfield was hit with five inches.
Mark Leake, maintenance foreman with the McLean County Highway Garage, said the county has a fleet of 18 salt trucks and plows clearing the roads.
“Everything is passable but use caution,” Leake said. “It’s only about four inches deep, but it might be a little slick underneath. I don’t think anyone will have any trouble getting anywhere. You just might want to give yourself a little extra time.”
Leake said it will likely take until late morning for all of the roads it treats, including Towanda Barnes, to have the snow removed.
“Salt won’t work quite that quick,” Leake said. “We’ll have them scraped by the morning commute and hopefully mid-morning to late morning we’ll have them salted and cleaned up pretty good.”
The Illinois Department of Transportation reports primary roads and interstates in central and southern Illinois are snow covered, while Interstate 55 in Logan County is partially snow and ice covered.
Snow moved out of the area early Wednesday. Temperatures are expected to reach a high of 24 on Wednesday according to WMBD meteorologist Lauren Rainson. Temperatures aren’t expected to climb above freezing until Sunday, when a high of 35 is projected.
Eric Stock can be reached at eric.stock@cumulus.com.
