For 900 ice and snow removal employees, “full call-out” means an impromptu 24-hour work day.
The Indiana Department of Transportation issued a full call-out Sunday evening in central and southern Indiana for its entire fleet of salt and plow trucks and shop mechanics.
The two INDOT districts of central Indiana initiated their call-out at 1 p.m. Sunday. The call-out for the two districts south of Indianapolis began at 4 p.m. By evening, around 900 snow and ice removal vehicles were out on Indiana’s 30,000 miles of traffic lanes, according to spokesperson Harry Maginity.
INDOT follows two to three weather forecasts daily to determine the extent of snow and ice precaution measures, Maginity said. All forecasts predicted large amounts of freezing rain in central and southern Indiana, moving into the evening.
“I would much rather see snow than ice,” Maginity said, adding that ice is more difficult to deal with. Snow is “easy to plow out of the way,” but ice requires careful attention and lots of brine — a salt-water solution that attacks road ice.
Students driving back to school were likely affected by the conditions. Maginity and INDOT urge drivers to drive with extreme caution and leave as early as possible.
The ideal time to return to IU Bloomington’s campus Sunday evening would have been by 6 p.m., especially if students had been passing through any of the Indianapolis area’s 120 snow routes, Maginity said.
“We will man all of those snow routes, wherever we are anticipating snow and ice,” Maginity said.
After INDOT issues a full call-out, each of the state’s six districts’ subdistricts determine if they, too, will send out all of their trucks. Bloomington’s subdistrict has about 31 snow routes and decided to send out all of its vehicles.
“It’s better to be safe than sorry,” Maginity said.
Most state highways and interstates received brine treatment at bridges and ramps Saturday in anticipation of Sunday’s storm, Maginity said.
In addition to the 900 drivers, it was full steam ahead for the repair crews at each of the subdistricts’ units.
“It’s kind of like a World War I movie scene, where fighter planes come in for repairs then go back out again,” Maginity said.
“Most of our trucks are capable of going back out,” Maginity added.
Full call-outs are never fun, but sometimes necessary to ensure Hoosier drivers’ safety, Maginity said. This winter has not been the worst he has seen, but Maginity said it has still been very severe.
“We’re not in control here. We don’t know how much rain we’ll get until it gets here,” Maginity said. “This is another break-off of the polar vortex.”
Drivers can stay informed about weather and road conditions at TrafficWise.IN.gov or by calling 800-261-7623.
