INDIANAPOLIS — Getting around on Monday, hours after the winter storm hit Central Indiana, was quite the journey for some drivers.
WRTV’s Amber Grigley spent time in Johnson, Hamilton, and Marion counties to see what drivers were experiencing and how crews were working to meet the weather demands.
"We've had some not-so-nice customers, but we put a smile on our face and we try our hardest. That's all we can do," Kambrie Vetzler said.
A smile, Vetzler has been wearing all day, hoping to ease much frustration for some drivers. Vetzler works at the Circle K on Main Street near I-65 in Greenwood.
"I actually live in Beech Grove, so the snow was pretty high there, but once we got on the interstate, the roads were pretty clear," Vetzler said.
Smooth sailing for Vetzler, but a sliding mess for others.
"Oh, huge. I mean, Marion needs more work. Fishers, up there is really nice," Trish Burge said.
Amber caught up with Burge Monday evening while she was running errands for her mother.
"The roads are not all the way clear in Marion County. I live in Nora, and my mother lives up there, 100 and Sixth Street, so it was a little dicey getting out of the neighborhood," Burge said.
"All the different municipalities and different counties, I'm sure they've all got their own struggles. Indianapolis has a lot of square mileage. There are a lot of lane miles to our city's roads as well. And so, it takes a while to clear a six-lane road. You don't see big six-lane roads in some of these other counties," Kyle Bloyd, Chief Communications Officer for the Indianapolis Department of Public Works said.
Bloyd said they aim to always have nearly 70 drivers on the roads plowing.
"However, there's still a little bit of wind that's going to blow the snow back onto the roadway. So, we're continuing to prioritize thoroughfares, and we want to do a fair bit of cleanup too. We want to work on the intersections a little bit, work on the turn lanes as well," Bloyd said.
Bloyd said with temperatures dropping and more snow potentially later in the week, 12-hour rotations will be in place until further notice.
"If we have this much snow, low temperatures, and more snow coming, where are we going to put all that snow? That's what we're kind of looking ahead to right now," Bloyd said. "Be patient, stay safe, give our drivers room to work. We need to keep those trucks on the road."
We wanted to hear from both Johnson and Hamilton County to see how they prioritize roads. Neither have not gotten back to us yet.
