APPLETON, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) – With all the expected snow from Winter Storm Bennett, it’s certain we’ll be seeing an impact on travel in our area. That includes airline flights, as well as out on the roads.
With the snowfall comes the expectation driving conditions will be less than ideal.
“Drifting snow on the roads,” Northeast Wisconsin DOT Traffic Safety Engineer Mason Simmons said. “That’s also going to be cooling our pavement a lot, so expect to see a lot of icy conditions as well especially on our overpasses and bridges.”
But just how bad could the situation get before the DOT would step in?
“Is it possible to shut down a highway if conditions got worse enough, and if so, what would the criteria need to be for it to get to that point?” FOX 11 asked.
“So typically, we’re not going to shut down the state highways or interstate systems,” Simmons said. “The idea being that if someone is out on the road, typically the interstates and state highways are the ones going to be plowed first, and two, they are designed to a higher standard. So if you’re going to be out, we want you to be out on those.”
Simmons said it’s important to be safe. That includes checking routes to plan ahead, and paying attention to where you are in case you go off the road. Above all else…
“If you don’t have to be out there then please do stay at home,” Simmons said.
While you can expect driving times to be longer than usual, you still have the option to drive. The same cannot always be said about air travel.
“There’s specifications that each airline has for what runway conditions can be like in order to land and take off,” Appleton International Airport Air Service and Business Development Manager Jesse Funk said. “They vary by aircraft type. So if we ever get to a point where we can’t meet those minimums — any airport — that’s when the runways would close and the airport would close.”
Funk says it’s been a long time since that’s happened at ATW.
“Our goal is to do everything possible,” Funk said. “We have the equipment to handle quite a bit of weather but it can be overwhelmed.”
However, that does increase the chances of flights being delayed. Funk wants passengers to remember it ultimately comes down to safety.
“I know it sounds like a broken record but have patience,” Funk said. “And then just because things are good here doesn’t necessarily mean they’re necessarily great in wherever the plane is going to. So Minneapolis, Chicago, Detroit may all be experiencing weather issues as well.”
Plowing crews at ATW work 12 hour shifts and are responsible for clearing over 13 million square feet of surface. The DOT reports on about 14,000 miles of highway for their 511 roadmap.
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