Michigan Department of Transportation crews are working around the clock to keep Greater Lansing roads as clear as possible during this week's snowstorm.
MDOT has about 90 plows in the Lansing area, with drivers working 12-hour shifts.
Aaron Jenkins of MDOT’s university region says they’re doing the best they can. He urges drivers to give plows the room they need to get the job done.
“When you’re maneuvering a big vehicle like that it’s really hard, and we don’t need the added problems of people getting in the way and crowding them, the plows,” Jenkins said.
Jenkins compares the effort to triage.
“You go to the spots that you think are more important, so we’re hitting the big roads like 96, 69, US-127, as well as any of the state roads that we handle, any of things that start with a 'US,' or 'I,' or 'M,'” he explained. “Those are the areas that we take care of.”
The cities of Lansing and East Lansing both declared snow emergencies effective Wednesday, banning on-street parking to allow for plowing operations. Lansing's snow emergency expires Thursday evening at 7 p.m. East Lansing's is in effect until Friday morning.
Snow isn’t the only issue; Jenkins reminds motorists in Jackson to also keep in mind that construction work continues on I-94.
A winter storm warning issued by the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids is in effect in Ingham County until Thursday morning at 7 a.m.
