Staff Writer
PRESQUE ISLE – When snow meets rain, it makes for some rather treacherous driving conditions. Such was the case in the Star City on Friday as snow from a Thursday-night storm combined with rain the next morning, turning the blanket of white to a mixture of slush and ice.
Photo courtesy of James McCarty
FLOODED ROADWAYS throughout Presque Isle kept Public Works Department personnel busy on Friday, as they made the rounds, clearing storm drains to allow the water to flow freely. Snow from the night before quickly packed into area drains when rain began to fall, creating slush and ice, preventing the day’s rain from draining properly. Here, traffic on Main Street near the intersection of Allen, Park and Main moved slowly. SUVs and pick-up trucks proved to be a wise choice for travel, given the road conditions. Crews had cleared all the drains by late in the afternoon.
“Warmer temperatures on Friday changed the precipitation from snow to rain, making for hazardous driving conditions,” said Gerry James, director of the Public Works Department.
James said this proved to be one of the more difficult times for his crews to keep roadways passable.
“It snowed hard, followed by rain, making a mixture of slush and ice that made roads difficult to travel. Slush pulls vehicles, making steering difficult, no matter what kind of tires you have,” said James.
Many drivers discovered it wasn’t just slush causing travel problems. Flooding was reported on several streets and roadways in the community, caused by slush and ice blocking drains.
“Water pooled up on several local streets due to Thursday’s snow turning to slush and ice with Friday’s rain, blocking area drains. The water had nowhere to go but on the streets,” said James.
Flooding occurred, according to James, on the Aroostook River bridge just north of the city, as well as on several streets.
“The bridge was flooded for a while. We had flooding near McDonald’s, in front of Ben’s Trading Post, at the ‘hollow’ near UMPI, as well as on Parsons Street near Shirley and Harold’s. My crews got them drained off by late in the day,” said James.
James said slush and snow on top of the basins “doesn’t go down well,” thus creating drainage problems. But this isn’t anything unusual for him and his crew.
“This is about the same weather we had two or three years ago. We had similar conditions, with drains blocked and water backing up on the streets. This often happens when you have snow followed by rain,” said James.
Drivers used caution throughout the day. The Presque Isle Police Department had no weather-related accidents reported as of noon on Friday.
“It helps when drivers use caution when roads are slush-covered or there’s a water problem like today. Reducing speed – having control of your vehicle is the key to getting anywhere safely, in weather like today,” said James.
“This was a tough storm. My guys were at it for 12 hours or more. It snowed hard, followed by rain,” said James, noting he and his crew were looking forward to better weather over the weekend and into next week.
Photo courtesy of James McCarty
DRIVERS CROSSING the Aroostook River bridge north of the city on Friday were probably surprised to see water flowing on the bridge, as well as under it, thanks to the Thursday night’s snow mixing with Friday’s rain, creating slush and ice that blocked drains, preventing proper drainage. Crews from the Public Works Department spent the better part of the day working to get the water moving properly, achieving their goal late in the day.
