Dec 26, 2008 4:37 pm US/Central
State Police Say Icy Roads Are Worst Ever Seen
Expressways, Roads Shut Down Across Area
CHICAGO (CBS) ―
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Dangerous ice early Friday caused this sport-utility vehicle to flip over on the Eisenhower Expressway, and shut down several area expressways at once.
CBS
Anyone who had to get around, especially early Friday morning, knows streets were more like ice rinks.
As CBS 2's Mike Puccinelli reports, a few hours before dawn Friday the white Christmas turned into an ice Christmas.
More than half a dozen people to get caught up in a chain-reaction crash along the Dan Ryan Expressway.
"I lost control my car went up on a barricade and flipped over," accident victim Marcaelis Sanders said.
No one was killed, but those in the collision felt lucky to have walked away.
"It's ridiculous man. Real dangerous. We almost lost our lives tonight. We need more salt out here," another man said.
The city's entire fleet was dispatched but they couldn't spread salt quickly enough for those caught in the storm, as drivers found out the hard way while spinning along the Eisenhower Expressway.
Those whose cars weren't spinning often found that their wheels were. But at least all four wheels were still on the ground, which couldn't be said for an SUV which flipped, trapping two young women inside. They had to be helped out by a state trooper.
It got so bad on the Ike that the entire expressway had to be shut down in the wake of what veteran officers are calling the worst ice storm they have ever seen.
And as CBS 2's Joanie Lum reports, state police went so far as to say if they could have closed each and every expressway in the Chicago area, they would have.
Motorists who had to drive downtown to work waited for temperatures to warm up, but still had problems.
"It was real slippery when I started the car up and tried to get off my block, and I had to do a three-point turn and it ended up to be like a nine-point turn because I spun around," said Lee Jerousek of Oak Park.
"This morning, ice all over the car; could hardly see; sliding up and down the streets," added Kenny Henderson.
It wasn't much better on the sidewalks. Even those who walked gingerly across the ice still nearly ended up on the ground.
Others felt endangered enough to abandon the ice covered sidewalks altogether, taking to the streets instead, in the hopes keeping their footing.
By midmorning the temperature was rising, but the pavement remained cold. While slick spots remained, conditions were improving.
But earlier, there was a glaze of ice on everything outside. Motorists said they didn't realize how dangerous the road conditions were until they were sliding instead of stopping.
"At both intersections I was just at, I didn't anticipate it to be as slick as it was, and I hit the brakes both places," said Cary Wood.
Expressways were shut down, among them the entire Indiana Toll Road from Ohio to Illinois. The west end of the toll road was reopened by 8:25 a.m.
In addition to the Indiana Toll Road, Interstate 55 was shut down altogether beyond I-355 following a series of wrecks. Westbound I-80 was also shut down at Houboldt Road after a serious crash, and all inbound express lanes on the Dan Ryan Expressway at 43rd Street were also shut down. The Eisenhower was also shut down in three places earlier in the morning, and at Mannheim Road, cars had to turn around and go the other way on the expressway.
By 9:30 a.m., I-57 and I-80 continued to be very icy and many accidents are occurring on them. Ice on the other expressways, including the Dan Ryan, is starting to melt and travel conditions are starting to improve, but travel was still considered dangerous.
Chicago Department of Streets and Sanitation spokesman Matt Smith said even though city crews have been salting the roads since 1 a.m., coats of ice that have covered up the salt on arterial streets.
The department deployed its full fleet of 276 snow fighting trucks at 4 a.m., according to a department release. But they do not cover the expressways – only Lake Shore Drive, the Chicago Skyway and major roadways.
The trucks moved to side streets later Friday morning.
Meanwhile, the Village of Lemont shut down every major intersection in town, Lemont police said. The village reopened Lemont Road, Route 83 and Archer Avenue around 5:35 a.m., but said side streets remained extremely treacherous.
CBS 2's Kris Habermehl said driving in those conditions means having no directional control, and the risk of sliding from side to side is constant. While it may be worse if a car has rear-wheel drive, Habermehl said motorists shouldn't be lulled into a false sense of security if they have front-wheel drive or if roads have been salted, because spinning out is a risk no matter what.
Illinois State Police have shut down their emergency accident plan, and ask anyone involved in a crash where both cars are drivable to exchange information and contact police later.
CBS 2's Rick DiMaio said on a scale of 1 to 10, this ice was a 10-plus. By as early as 5:25 a.m., the heaviest freezing rain had ended and was supplanted by light drizzle. But flooding was expected to be a problem as temperatures rise.
"It's a Catch 22," said Marisa Kollias, spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Transportation. "We're getting rid of one problem, the ice, but we're getting another problem with the flooding."
The National Weather Service issued flood watches for much of the state, including the Chicago area and communities hugging the Mississippi River, saying "the potential exists for very serious and potentially life threatening flooding."
Most CTA buses and trains were running, but at a slower pace than normal, according to spokeswoman Kim Myles. Buses were delayed because garages were surrounded by ice, Myles said.
"We are having some major bus delays this morning because it's so icy around many of the garages that the drivers are having trouble getting the buses off the aprons," Myles said. "And once they get on the streets, they're facing the same problems as the cars and have to go very slowly."
The CTA also had to shut down service on some 'L' lines because of weather conditions.
The CTA suspended service on the Yellow Line and on the Purple Line between the Howard station and the Loop and major delays are being reported along the entire Red Line due weather conditions, according to CTA's Web site.
In addition, the Blue, Brown, Green, Orange and Pink line trains experienced minor delays.
The conditions also caused delays and cancellations on Metra.
Trains were canceled on the Heritage Corridor and Rock Island District lines, while a train on the Metra Electric Line was delayed by 20 to 25 minutes and a train on the BNSF line didn't leave at all.
Because of the freezing rain and ice, all Metra lines were experiencing delays from 15 to 30 minutes, the agency's Web site said.
In the suburbs, icy conditions are causing moderate to severe delays for Pace buses. There were no reports of accidents and all routes were operating, according to Pace.
Delays were also seen at the airports. At 10:30 a.m., delays at O'Hare on inbound and outbound flights were averaging 30 to 45 minutes and minor cancellations have been reported. At Midway, some flights are delayed 30 minutes and about 20 cancellations have been reported, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
The latest precipitation comes as the National Weather Service for Chicago reports 2008 is nearing the record for the wettest year on record. According to meteorologists, so far this year they have recorded 49 inches of precipitation.
The wettest year on record in Chicago was 1983, when 49.35 inches of precipitation were recorded.
Forecasters also are warning of flash flooding over the weekend with heavy rain and thunderstorms expected to bring 1 to 3 inches of rain by Saturday evening. A flash flood watch has been issued for the entire Chicago area beginning late Friday night.
The Associated Press and the STNG Wire contributed to this report.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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