By Adam Studzinski

BLOOMINGTON – It’s looking to be a slick weekend in Bloomington-Normal, but public works crews will be out trying to make sure the roads are as clear as possible.

Bloomington Public Works Director Jim Karch said his strategy for the potential weather heading towards the Twin Cities is “prepare for the worst and hope for the best.”

“Our crews are getting things ready, getting all the trucks prepared, filled with salt, ready to go,” said Karch. “So that when we get the call, because we’re assuming at some point we’re going to be getting a call, we have to be as responsive as the event demands.”

Normal Public Works Director Wayne Aldrich explained his crews will also be on standby for whatever weather strikes. Aldrich added the town should have plenty of road salt to make it through the weekend and the rest of winter.

“This last year we took as much salt as possible from our existing contract. We had very good prices per ton for our salt,” Aldrich said.

Karch explained although their supplies are plentiful that doesn’t mean dealing with ice is easy.

“Even with just a little bit of ice it can cause a lot of trouble for roads and for public works crews across the Midwest,” said Karch. “Whenever you have that much ice, it still takes a lot of salt to maintain the roads and to keep them safe.”

A Winter Storm Watch is in effect McLean County and much of Central Illinois for most of the weekend.

Adam Studzinski can be reached at [email protected].