INDIANAPOLIS–You’re being asked to stay home, if you don’t have to be out. Marion County is under a travel advisory at least through Tuesday morning.
“If you do not have to be driving please stay off the roads,” said Mayor Joe Hogsett at a Monday news conference at the city’s emergency operations center. “If you must drive, please be prepared. Take food and water with you in the event of an emergency, and I would ask all people out to please keep your phones charged.”
The mayor said two important numbers to remember are 911 for emergencies and 211 for assistance with shelter or food. He said an emergency heating station has been set up at the Municipal Gardens at 1831 Lafayette Rd.
Dan Parker, head of the Indianapolis Dept. of Public Works, asked that you steer clear of the salt and plow trucks as the make their way around the main thoroughfares.
“You do not want to play around with a 30-ton truck with salt and a plow on it. So please stay back of all of our trucks,” he said. Parker said if the possible white out conditions make it hard for you to drive, it’s the same for the city’s salt and plow truck drivers. He said the primary goal is to clear the main streets first, and then get to some of the residential streets as soon as they can.
“We will at some point get to more residential areas. But, our primary focus, as the snow is still falling, will be our main thoroughfares.”
He expects the plow trucks to be through at least Thursday and maybe Friday, with drivers working in 12-hour shifts, to clear streets as best they can. Parker said salt will only be put down once streets are clear, so that they don’t immediately plow it up and waste salt.
National Weather Service Indianapolis office chief forecaster Ted Funk said the storm is the biggest since March 24, 2018, when Indy got 11 inches of snow.
“It doesn’t look like we’ll get quite that much this time. But, we’re gonna be close.”
