Houghton, Ontonagon county road commissions ready for snow storm

WESTERN UPPER PENINSULA., Mich. (WLUC) - Roads in Houghton and Ontonagon counties may have been clear Thursday, but that soon changed.

Kevin Harju from the Houghton County Road Commission said his crew was ready to take on the winter storm.

“We have some snow belts that typically get more than others, but it doesn’t matter if we get one foot of snow or 18 inches of snow we still have to plow those roads,” Harju said.

Harju adds that storms in March are tough on the road commission.

“A lot of our gravel roads are very soft right now so it’s going to be slow going,” Harju said. “I hope that the public is going to be patient with us because runs are going to take a long time, heavy snow will take a toll on our equipment, so we are hoping not to have a bunch of breakdowns.”

Meanwhile, the Ontonagon County Road Commission said it had time to get ready.

“It’s actually been pretty nice weather this week, so we already took that chance to make sure our salt and sand supply was ready for the next storm,” said Ontonagon County Road Commission Engineer Manager Ryan DeHut.

Both county road commissions were prepared with greased equipment and extra staff.

“A lot of our employees are doing oil changes and changing blades on the plows in order to get everything ready,” Harju said.

Harju and DeHut encourage you to stay off the roads during the storm but take extra caution if you need to travel.

“There is also a prediction of high winds which will cause poor visibility and blowing and drifting of the snow,” said DeHut.

Other reminders include making sure your headlights are on and clear all the snow off your car before you drive it.

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