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UPDATE: Flights resume at Peoria’s airport after snowstorm stoppage

1470-100.3 WMBD/Kristina Leahy

UPDATE: 2:21 p.m.

PEORIA, Ill. — Airlines are once again flying at General Wayne A. Downing Peoria International Airport following a brief shut down of flights, presumably due to weather.

Peoria airports director Gene Olson tells WMBD News UPS cargo aircraft continued flying in and out of the area’s primary air hub on Wednesday, “but the commercial passenger airlines cancelled everything.”

Olson says the first passenger flight to arrive on Thursday was a Norwegian Airlines flight from St. Petersburg, Florida around 12:30 p.m.

According to FlyPIA.com, there were still several arrivals and departures cancelled for later Thursday.

This local impact is added to the more than 4,000 flights reported cancelled nationwide Thursday morning by Flight Aware and largely as a result of a massive winter storm that has gripped much of the Central U.S. through midweek.

Olson reminds many returning Peoria residents they are likely to find their vehicles blocked in parking spots surrounded by higher banks of freshly plowed snow.

“All of our people in the parking lot have shovels in their car and will come help them out and pull them out so they can drive off,” said Olson.

He says airport snow fighters continued working to keep runways clear throughout this week’s snow storm despite the airline’s cancellations.

Olson says that decision was made to ensure Peoria’s main airport could service any aircraft experiencing emergency mechanical issues and needing a place to land.

UPDATE: 12:04 p.m.

PEORIA, Ill. — The City of Peoria’s winter storm street parking ban has been extended another 14 hours, presumably to help local “Snow Fighters” wrap up their work clearing roads and streets of all the snow.

The parking ban is now extended until 8 a.m. Friday.  Before the decision to extend it, the ban was set to expire at 6 p.m. Thursday.

“Ultimately, it was the best thing to do to be able to get the road clean from curb to curb,” said Peoria Mayor Rita Ali amidst some criticism about the decision to disrupt residents’ usual parking habits.

Ali says she doesn’t get any special treatment either when it comes to her residential street getting snow plowing. So, she says she understands residents feeling frustrated by whatever work has or hasn’t been done.

“It takes time,” said Ali. “We’re encouraging people to just be patient, be cautious while you’re out there if you go out there. If you don’t have to go out today, we’re encouraging you to stay in.”

An update release from city officials said local snow plow crews had cleaned roughly 30 percent of the more than 1,200 lane miles of Peoria by just before noon Thursday.

Officials are also offering parking alternatives to those who might have difficulty in finding adequate spots amidst the extended ban.

Residents are told they may move their cars to the Twin Towers Parking Garage, 123 SW Jefferson Street, Niagara Deck, 109 W Adams Street, Jefferson Deck, 236 SW Jefferson Street, and Northwoods Mall, on the south side of the lot, near Interstate 74.

The release continues, saying;

“There will be no charge to residents using the deck, but those using the parking decks will need to take the ticket for access. “

Decks will be monitored by security.  Alternative parking locations will be available from 3 pm on Tuesday, February 1 until 8 am on Saturday, February 5.

Drivers are being reminded those who violate the city’s street parking ban could face a very sudden inconvenience with their car being towed and could face a minimum fine of $50.

(WMBD’s Will Stevenson and Cooper Banks contributed to this report.)

UPDATE: 8:33 a.m.

PEORIA, Ill. — Conditions continued to improve for Peoria area drivers through the early part of the day Thursday as snowfall in the region tapered off and a second wave of heavy winter weather shifted further toward communities in Southern Illinois.

Snow fighters with the City of Peoria managed to clear off most arterial surface streets throughout town, including War Memorial Drive, Knoxville Ave. and Illinois Route 6.  Traffic One has reported improved driving conditions, particularly after sunrise and as more cars began traveling out on local roads.

A limited number of brave motorists also managed to sustain speed limit travel along Interstate 74 heading into and out of downtown Peoria.

The city’s commercial core is where snow fighters had hoped to clear roads curb-to-curb and allow downtown businesses to resume, at least closer to normal operations by earlier Thursday.

“Downtown…we’re going to clean off around the parking meters and parking lanes so that business can function downtown,” said the city’s Public Works Deputy Operations Director, Sie Maroon.

Maroon says contract snow fighters remained an essential part of the effort to clear neighborhood streets across the city through the storm. Even with the help, he says city trucks will be going back through residential streets to carry out complete curb-to-curb snow clearing through Thursday and Friday.

Maroon said he did not expect a return to normal driving conditions until sometime late Friday or early Saturday.

The same prediction was made by the head of snow fighting efforts in one of Peoria’s suburban communities early Wednesday. Brett Olson, Street Maintenance Manager in Pekin said he didn’t expect residential neighborhoods to be passable until sometime Friday.

There were only 13 snow fighters working the roads in Pekin through the storm, rotating 12 hour shifts to complete the work.

A BROADER IMPACT

CHICAGO (Reuters) – A massive winter storm walloped the central United States with heavy snow, freezing rain and gusty winds on Wednesday, threatening to make travel virtually impossible and possibly knocking out power for millions of Americans.

Winter and ice storm warnings and watches were in effect for a wide swathe of the United States that reached from Texas and Colorado up through the Midwest and into Northern New York until Friday morning, the National Weather Service (NWS) said.

Much of the northern part of the region could get 1 foot (30 cm) of snow while southern spots may see a mixture of snow and freezing rain that will rapidly deteriorate travel conditions the NWS said. Winds gusts as high as 40 miles (64 km) per hour were also forecast.

“Expect power outages and tree damage due to the ice. Travel could be impossible. The hazardous conditions could impact the morning or evening commute,” the service said in its advisory for Memphis.

More than 100 million people were under winter weather alerts that stretched from the Rockies to New England, CNN reported.

Some 2,400 flights were canceled in the United States as of Wednesday morning, according to Flightaware.com. More than 400 flights alone were canceled to and from the two major airports in Chicago, where as much as a foot of snow was in the forecast for parts of the metro area.

The storm also forced dozens of school districts in the region to cancel classes for at least Wednesday.

Extremely cold air caused by Arctic high pressure that is forecast to descend over the Plains on Wednesday sent temperatures plummeting 15 to 25 degrees below average in some areas, the NWS added.

The storm threat comes days after fierce winter weather engulfed the northeastern part of the United States, dropping more than 2 feet (60 cm) of snow on some areas and packing high winds, prompting thousands of flight cancellations and curtailing access to the roads in some states.

(Reporting by WMBD’s Cooper Banks, Julia Bradley, Will Stevenson as well as Brendan O’Brien in Chicago; Editing by Angus MacSwan)

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ORIGINAL STORY:

PEORIA, Ill. — Snow fighters were given some time and space to gain ground later Wednesday as street clearing efforts continued in Peoria.

A news release sent by city Public Works officials said local snow plow drivers had made “tremendous progress” in their efforts to that point.

Deputy Operations Director Sie Maroon echoed that optimism, saying his teams and newly hired contractors could “see the light at the end of the tunnel, so to speak.”

Snow fighters were set to continue plowing main arterial roads, turn lanes and medians throughout the night.

Maroon says Peoria’s heaviest traveled four and six lane roads should be in decent shape by around sunrise Thursday with work beginning soon thereafter to open Peoria’s commercial core to commuters once again.

“Downtown…we’re going to clean off around the parking meters and parking lanes so that business can function downtown.”

That was anticipated to be underway or completed sometime Thursday morning.

Maroon says contract snow fighters remained an essential part of the effort to clear neighborhood streets across the city through the storm. Even with the help, he says city trucks will be going back through residential streets to carry out complete curb-to-curb snow clearing through Thursday and Friday.

Maroon said he did not expect a return to normal driving conditions until sometime late Friday or early Saturday.

The same prediction was made by the head of snow fighting efforts in one of Peoria’s suburban communities early Wednesday. Brett Olson, Street Maintenance Manager in Pekin said he didn’t expect residential neighborhoods to be passable until sometime Friday.

There were only 13 snow fighters working the roads in Pekin through the storm, rotating 12 hour shifts to complete the work.