Fresh coat of snow makes for slick Tuesday morning commute

MILWAUKEE -- Southeastern Wisconsin saw a fresh blanket of snow Tuesday morning and afternoon, with most areas around Milwaukee seeing one to four inches fall by noon, and the snow, along with plunging temperatures made for slick roadways for the Tuesday morning commute!

Drivers really didn't have much of a choice Tuesday morning. It was slow going in many areas during the rush hour commute. "I was going behind someone going 12 miles-an-hour," Dave O'Meara said. But going slow beats the alternative of being even further delayed by an accident or fender-bender like those that occurred near Sherman and Stark streets in Milwaukee, and along I-94 near Moorland Road.

During peak snowfall, the Milwaukee County Sheriff's Department says visibility was limited to about a half-mile. That, combined with the slick roads made for tricky travel Tuesday morning. "It's slippery! Fortunately, I've got a four-wheel-drive car, but I wasn't going to head out for any more than just a quick trip for some milk and some lettuce. Going to go back in and hibernate for the rest of the day," Linda Even said.

Waukesha County Sheriff's Department says from 7:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. Tuesday, they were dealing with 55 vehicles in ditches, 32 property damage accidents, and two minor personal injury accidents.

During peak snowfall around 8:30 a.m. to 9:00 a.m., traffic delays on I-43 from Brown Deer Road to the Marquette Interchange was 50 minutes.

Eddie Dobbins says he hustled to get out and get to work, making sure to give himself some extra time to make it through Tuesday morning's commute safely. The first step was getting his car shoveled out quickly! "If you don't (shovel) quick, the weather might change and it will turn to ice and you can hardly get it up. Then, it's a job, so this way, it's easy," Dobbins said.

The Racine Fire Department got a little help Tuesday morning from a citizen with a plow. "We were just trying to get the snow off the street, and one of the civilians driving by with a plow just came by and cleaned up the mess. It was great, because he didn't ask for anything. He just saw that we needed some help, and came by and helped us out, just like we try to do with our job," Priv. Travis Padgett with the Racine Fire Department said.

The City of Milwaukee Department of Public Works had 112 pieces of equipment out on the roads starting at 4:00 a.m. Tuesday, and were concentrating on major arterials before hitting side streets. Based on forecast temperatures falling Tuesday night, garbage and recycling collection has been suspended, and is expected to resume Wednesday. Garbage collection trucks will be mounted with plows to continue covering the roads. Residents are urged to shovel out garbage and recycling carts to assist in collection.