Warm Weather a Blessing for Roads

Many of us would agree this winter has been a lot less intense than usual so far.

But that’s especially true for county road commissions.

Based on the Marquette County Road Commission’s cumulative snowfall data for November and December, this winter has been significantly lighter than average.

With less and less funding available for winter road preparation every year, the lighter winter has helped the commission out a lot.

Road Commission engineer/manager Jim Iwanicki says they’ve had to spend a lot less money so far on plowing than they expected to.

That’s helping them weather a tough financial situation amid falling state revenue.

Although today brought more warm temperatures to the area, crews will be out tonight.

With lots of snow melting, the Road Commission plans on icy road conditions in much of the county tonight.

Iwanicki says that’s because the melted snow is going to freeze back up, making driving a lot more difficult than we may have gotten used to.

The Road Commission will have crews out in Ishpeming, Republic and K.I. Sawyer tonight.