Snow Plow Crews Prepping For Weekend Storm
CHICAGO (CBS) -- With the first real snowfall of the season expected to begin Friday night, crews in the northern suburbs have been getting their snow plows ready to hit the road, and checking their routes before they have to start clearing the streets.
In Lake County, Ill., plow truck drivers recently did dry runs of the county's snow routes so drivers would know about any possible problems before they actually put down their plows.
"We sent out all our plow drivers in their plows. They go out and they go and check the routes; any changes in the routes, any raised manholes; go over the trucks, and make sure the trucks are ready for the snowstorm," said Lake County Division of Transportation maintenance engineer Kevin Kerrigan.
Lake County crews plow about 835 lane miles of county highways.
"We have 26 routes, and it can take anywhere from 2 to 3 hours, and that's depending on the amount of the snowfall and the traffic," Kerrigan said.
He said motorists should remember snow plow drivers cannot always other cars, so they should stay at least 50 feet behind a plow.
Also, just because a plow is sliding over to a turn lane doesn't mean it is going to turn. Kerrigan said plow drivers usually pull back into the right lane of traffic after clearing a turn lane.
Lake County's salt bins had about 18,000 tons of road salt as of Thursday, with more available if needed.