Road crews take advantage of sunshine

The road crews that worked to clear snow and ice from city streets and major highways today counted on an ally in Mother Nature.

"We want to take advantage of the sun," Tim Gramling, Cape Girardeau public works director, said. "I think we can make some progress today."

Sunshine appeared in the area this morning in the wake of a winter storm that dumped sleet, freezing rain and at least six inches of snow in Cape Girardeau and in the surrounding area. Crews from public works have battled the snow and ice since early Friday morning.

Gene Magnus makes the turn at Shawnee Park heading back onto the Cape LaCroix Recreation Trail for the St. Jude Frostbite Half-Marathon on Saturday in Cape Girardeau. Sunny skies greeted runners and road crews Saturday after a major winter storm blew through the region. (Fred Lynch)

"We've been at it around the clock," Gramling said. "We have 16 trucks working to make the roads safe, and we're starting to see pavement showing on primary roads like Independence Street and Broadway."

Gramling said crews also had been busy plowing snow off the city's secondary streets, but he reminded motorists to exercise caution if they plan to drive.

"There's still a lot of slick spots out there," Gramling said. "People need to be very careful."

Interstate 55 and major highways still were partly covered with snow and ice today, according to Mark Shelton, district director of the Missouri Department of Transportation.

"It's been hard to make a whole lot of progress, but we've made some," Shelton said. "I'm glad that there's sunshine. That really helps us out."

Shelton said his crews had been busy trying to clear the interstate along with major highways such as U.S. 61, Highway 34 and parts of Kingshighway and William Street.

"We're going to be active all day and into the night," he said. "Conditions aren't as treacherous as they were on Friday, but motorists should still use a lot of caution."

Don McQuay, director of the Cape Girardeau County Public Works Department, said his crews had been diligently clearing county roads.

"We're out grading roads again," McQuay said. "It's been a rough two days, but we're doing all we can do. People need to be patient."

McQuay said the county roads looked better than they did Friday.

"We've had everyone out," he said. "Road graders, cinder trucks -- everything. We started to get real busy at about 5:30 a.m. Friday, and we worked into the night."

McQuay said he hoped the sunshine would help his crews remove snow and ice that remain on the county roads.

"The sun is helping us," he said, "but what we really need is warmer weather. It's cold out there."

According to forecast charts from the National Weather Service in Paducah, Ky., temperatures could remain below freezing until Thursday or Friday. The weather service also forecasted a 30 percent chance of snow and sleet Sunday.

klewis@semissourian.com

388-3635