With the spring season finally upon us, cleaning of our highways and byways will be getting underway.
INDOT’s annual Trash Bash will be running throughout this month and coincides with National Earth Day to aid in raising awareness of litter. Over 20,000 bags of trash were collected by INDOT maintenance crews, Indiana Department of Correction offender crews, and Adopt-A-Highway volunteers last year.
As temperatures continue to improve and we move further into the spring season, construction projects are beginning and pothole patching continues. The asphalt plants will soon open to create product.
Asphalt plants will be opening a little later this season due to the unusually difficult winter. INDOT representatives have been told that the cold and poor traveling conditions have delayed prep work for the summer paving season. The prep work is necessary before the plants can open.
Two road construction projects in the Kankakee Valley will hamper travel for a few days.
According to INDOT Northwest Media Relations Coordinator Matt Deitchley, U.S. 35 between Knox and Winamac will be closed for 10 to 20 days for a pipe replacement. Deitchley said the closure should begin at State Road 10 and go south. The project is expected to begin on Monday, April 14.
Candidates seeking office in the May Primary Election and who are posting campaign signs should be reminded that the signs can not be placed in a right-of-way space.
Political signs should be within private property. Signs shall be permitted to be displayed no more than 90 days prior to the scheduled election and shall be removed within 14 days after the Primary Election.
INDOT was awarded the money in February for local transportation projects to be bid in July 2016. This round of funding is for projects that would be designed, developed and have purchased land according to federal standards prior to bid during the fiscal year beginning July 2017.
Political signs may not be posted on a highway right-of-way, utility poles, or any person’s property without the property owner’s permission. Placing political signs with the approval of the property owner may be subject to local zoning regulations. If a sign is placed in a highway right-of-way, INDOT crews will remove the sign and you may retrieve it at the nearest INDOT facility.
Starke County Highway Department officials are reporting high water at the intersection of 250 N. and 100 W., 50 S. between 700 E. and 800 E. and 300 E. between 50 S. and 100 S. Signs have been posted. Most roads including state roads have standing water at least in one lane.
What was once standing water could have frozen overnight which could cause extremely dangerous driving conditions.
The Starke County Highway snow plows will be out in full force to try and keep up with the snow that is falling and drifting in the area.
Highway Superintendent Rik Ritzler told WKVI News that if the snow gets to be too much to keep up with, then the plows will be taken off the roads. When blowing and drifting becomes an issue, it does no good for the crews to be out as roads drift shut just as soon as they pass.
INDOT Media Relations Director Matt Deitchley said the department is getting continuous shipments of salt as needed. Crews use various other chemical de-icers, depending on the situation. He indicated that the state is in good shape in terms of supply to effectively eradicate the roads of snow and ice.
Historically low temperatures gave way to a 50 degree swing in less than 24 hours.
Starke County’s travel warning and emergency declaration have been canceled. The county is now under a travel watch. This means essential travel, such as to and from work or in emergency situations is allowed. The Starke County Courthouse and Annex Building are still scheduled to open at 10 this morning. Pulaski and Marshall Counties are also under watches. Roads are still slippery, so allow yourself plenty of extra time to get to where you’re going. INDOT advises plow drivers are still fighting back against drifting on state roads in some of the rural areas around parts of Starke, Pulaski and Marshall Counties. Officials in Pulaski County advise highways have patches of ice, and county roads are slick and snow covered. If you do venture out, allow plenty of time to reach your destination. Roads are still slick under the snow, and salt is not effective to melt ice when temperatures are this cold.
Three Medaryville Volunteer Firefighters were taken to Pulaski Memorial Hospital for treatment of minor injuries after their truck hit a patch of black ice Saturday morning on County Road 175 North just west of County Road 1400 West, struck a NIPSCO pole and came to a stop in a field. They were responding to a report of an INDOT snow plow truck that had caught fire on northbound State Road 39 just south of County Road 200 North. Plow driver Jimmy Collins, 26, of Winamac, came upon a large snow drift as he was heading north, and his plow got stuck. Collins got out of the truck to get a tow chain and saw that the rear tandems were on fire. The small fire extinguisher in the cab of the truck was no match for the high wind that was fanning the flames. The plow truck was a total loss, according to the accident report from the Pulaski County Sheriff’s Office. The fire truck sustained repairable damage.
Sheriff Tom Chamberlin explained that three new vehicles will be delivered on Monday, Jan. 27 and a prepayment is needed in order to complete the transaction. The vehicles will need to be equipped with light bars and other pertinent equipment that needs to be installed in a police cruiser.
INDOT Spokesman Matt Deitchley told WKVI that snow plow drivers have been in full call out mode since Monday night. This means that 170+ snow plow routes have been fully staffed in order to keep roads safe for motorists.
Crews are working 12-or-more hours on alternating shifts so drivers are out 24 hours a day. They have been working these shifts for six straight days. Dozens of other employees are working around the clock in order to dispatch drivers and maintain the equipment. Continue reading
The National Weather Service has issued a lake effect snow watch this morning through this afternoon with total accumulations of three to six inches in the Starke County area. Continue reading
INDOT said in a press release, “When the Indiana Department of Transportation is not clearing snow, ice or storm debris, crews are focused on maintaining and preserving the state’s roads and bridges, which mainly consists of pothole patching in the winter months.”
INDOT Spokesman Matt Deitchley said salt, chemical de-icers and abrasives were put down yesterday. In addition, crews are using plows and heavy duty equipment to break the snow apart. Deitchely stresses that road conditions may get worse before they get better.
