A winter storm ravaging its way through Indiana has threatened travel this weekend for holiday and student commuters, and according to the weather forecast, the situation could get worse. \nAfter a relatively smooth day Saturday, both air and ground transportation officials began to brace for Sunday’s predicted onslaught.\n“We’re just kind of at the mercy of the weather because we’ll have to fight whatever happens,” said Marvin Jenkins, director of public information for the Seymour district of the Indiana Department of Transportation, which includes Bloomington.
In the air\nTravel at the Indianapolis International Airport went “pretty well” Saturday, said Mike Medvescek, the airport’s director of operations.\nA few flights were delayed and canceled, but no flights were canceled because of the conditions in Indianapolis, Medvescek said. The airport called on all of its staff members, and they were able to keep the runways clear of snow. The process of deicing planes caused most delays, he said.\nCaitie van der Have, an IU senior who took a late-afternoon flight Saturday to New Jersey, said she was surprised at how well air traffic was flowing. Her flight was briefly delayed because the plane was late arriving.\n“The airport was not bad,” she said. “There were no lines at security. … It was not as bad as you would’ve expected.”\nBut Medvescek said they still have to get through Sunday.\n“We’re not out of it yet,” he said.\nTravel will depend on the type of precipitation, he said. Ice and freezing rain cause the most damage because ice is harder to scrape off the runways than snow, and continuous freezing rain makes it impossible for the deicing fluid to work long enough for planes to take off, he said.\nSome travelers are carefully planning ahead to make sure they’ll be able to reach their destinations Sunday.\nClaire Rivron, a 21-year-old Bloomington resident, will leave early Sunday morning for a holiday trip to Puerto Rico with her family. She and her parents and sister are scheduled to depart Indianapolis at around 7 a.m. for a connection in Charlotte, N.C., before they reach San Juan. Rivron and her family are leaving Bloomington at 4 a.m. to ensure they make it to Indianapolis on time. They’ve also hired a car to take them to the airport so they won’t have to deal with the driving in potentially bad weather.\n“We’re allowing an hour-and-a-half to get to Indy, even though it’s about a 50-minute drive,” Rivron said.\nAs long as they make their connection, they’ll be happy, she said.\nMedvescek advised travelers to call their airline or check the airport Web site before they leave their homes to make sure their flights aren’t delayed or canceled.\n“It’s much more comfortable to sit at home for a couple hours than at the airport,” he said.
On the ground\nTo cover State Road 37, the Indiana Department of Transportation has continuously employed 25 snow plows this weekend, said Will Wingfield, a spokesperson for the department. \nHowever, that group is a small component of the work the department is doing to protect the roads from this statewide storm. The department is responsible for all state routes, highways and interstates – basically any numbered road – and the cleanup effort this weekend might require the help of its entire fleet, which boasts more than 1,000 plows, Wingfield said. \n“I wouldn’t be surprised if we get close to that number,” Wingfield said. “…We tailor our response to the conditions. We have our hand on the phone in case we need to call people out at a moment’s notice.”\nWingfield said he wasn’t aware of any major closures Saturday, but said Sunday might be worse if blizzard-like weather comes as predicted. The ice, he said, would be the worst for crews to clean up.\nHe advised travelers to cancel their plans if possible, but if travel is absolutely necessary, he said drivers should go slow, be patient and be respectful of the plows. \n“We do everything in our power to keep snow off the road, but if you don’t have to go, don’t drive in wintery conditions. One of the safest things to do is to make alternate plans,” said Wingfield, who decided not to commute from Indianapolis to Bloomington on Saturday for his sister-in-law’s graduation celebration because of the weather.\nVan der Have, who drove to the Indianapolis International Airport at around 1 p.m. Saturday, said the only travel problem she had was getting to the airport. She said she saw five or six cars that had slid off the road into ditches.\n“None (of the accidents) looked serious, but there were definitely people all over the place,” she said. “The roads looked kind of messy.”\nWingfield said he’s encouraging all drivers to visit the department’s Web site for a list of winter driving tips and the Indiana State Police Web site for road safety updates.\nBut the crews will be ready to tackle any weather that hits the pavement, Jenkins said. \n“Right now, it’s a question of monitoring and waiting to react in an appropriate manner,” he said.
