INDOT, South Bend Airport preparing for winter storm

SOUTH BEND, Ind. (WNDU) - Preparations continue across Michiana ahead of the winter storm heading our way.

INDOT is asking everyone to avoid traveling on Friday if possible.

Cassandra Bajek, the public relations director for INDOT Northwest said pretreatment of roads for this storm may be difficult.

Because there is rain and sleet expected at the start of the storm, anything put on the roads to pretreat will wash away.

Bajek said INDOT has two big concerns with this storm: frigid temperatures and high winds.

Those two things combined make it very difficult for snow and ice removal, because it’s so cold that some of the materials don’t work as well.

Salt is 80 percent less effective at 20 degrees or lower.

And the second big concern is the wind.

A plow can go through and clear a road, but with high winds causing drifting, the road can be covered again in a matter of minutes.

“That’s really what we want people to remember is that we are doing our best, but when it’s a really difficult winter storm, it’s not going to look like we are making a lot of headway until it’s over,” Bajek said.

INDOT said if you do have to travel this weekend, take it slow and give plows plenty of space on the roads.

To see a map of where INDOT plows are located, visit 511in.org.

Meanwhile, the South Bend International Airport said they are always prepared for weather like this.

Teams are on call and on standby, ready to keep the runways and taxiways clear for landing and departing aircraft.

Julie Curtis, the VP of marketing and air service development said it’s important for all travelers to check their flight status directly with the airline they are traveling on prior to heading to the airport.

“Each airline has a mobile app that travelers can download for free and can set up push alerts so that if there are impacts to their flights, they will be automatically notified,” Curtis said.

And over at the Indianapolis International Airport, TSA says many travelers are moving their flights up.

Be sure to arrive at least two hours prior to your flight departure.

And if you are bringing Christmas presents to your destination, pack them unwrapped. TSA may have to investigate the gifts and they will unwrap them for you.

According to NBC Chicago, if you are flying out of Midway or O’Hare, “several major carriers offered changes to certain itineraries for no fee.”

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