Crashes reported in Ann Arbor area as snow falls; 1 to 2 inches expected
Update: As of 9:10 a.m., police were dealing with crashes on eastbound M-14 near Barton Drive in Ann Arbor, eastbound Interstate 94 and South Huron Street in Ypsilanti and northbound U.S. 23 and Stony Creek Road north of Milan.
Emergency crews dealt with several crashes on Interstate 94 and U.S. 23 Friday as snow fell in the Ann Arbor area.
At 7:15 a.m., two crashes were reported on westbound I-94 on the south side of Ann Arbor. One, at northbound U.S. 23, involved four vehicles, a dispatcher with the Washtenaw County Sheriff’s Office said. The other crash was at westbound I-94 and State Street.
Another crash was reported on northbound U.S. 23 at Stony Creek Road about 7:50 a.m. A dispatcher said it appeared to involve a vehicle that had gone off the right side of the northbound lanes.
Other crashes occurred earlier in the morning in the same area, the dispatcher said.
Washtenaw County Road Commission trucks were out salting and sanding roads, the dispatcher said
The National Weather Service says snow accumulating to 1 to 2 inches is possible Friday. Most of that will come before 10 a.m. After that snow showers may mix with areas of freezing drizzle before noon. Later in the day, a mix of snow, freezing rain and drizzle is possible. Little or no ice accumulation is expected.
A high temperature of 34 is expected with winds gusting to 22 mph.
Friday night, areas of drizzle, snow showers, and freezing drizzle are possible before 1 a.m. After that, there’s a slight chance of snow showers. It will be cloudy with a low around 25.
Saturday will bring a chance of flurries, mostly cloudy skies and a high near 32. It will continue to be blustery with winds gusting to 21 mph.
Sunday will be mostly sunny with a high near 33.
View Crashes 022212 in a larger map
For updated weather conditions and forecasts anytime, check AnnArbor.com's weather page.
Comments
kuriooo
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 8:13 p.m.
I appreciate the effort of the plow drivers and city officials who try to make decisions to keep us safe, but I wish we would allocate our tax dollars differently. I'd like more money spent to keep the roads clear of snow, and money spent fixing the roads so they don't get into such bad condition in the first place. I am not interested in funding public art projects ...or creating more parks in downtown - however nice these extras might be, I really just want my schools and roads to function better.
grimmk
Sat, Feb 23, 2013 : 7:35 a.m.
Funny how once you plow a road and it's still snowing it just gets covered up again. Maybe you'd like them to wait until it stop snowing before they start plowing and salting the roads?
MgoBlueMomma
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 6:37 p.m.
Great Job Road Commission! - keep up the good work. And not I am not being sarcastic people. They guys do a great job considering the elements they are up against.
MgoBlueMomma
Sat, Feb 23, 2013 : 2:28 p.m.
Beardown---what elements? Its not always about how much snow we have. Its the traffic, the crazy drivers that don't slow down, the slippery conditions. Running the equipment and doing it all to TRY and make the public safer. Thise elements.
beardown
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 7:14 p.m.
Eh, what elements are those? We live in the north, 2 inches of snow should cause accidents or the chaotic mess that is out there. We knew about the snow coming all week, so it should not have been a surprise and the roads should have been salted before the snow or during what little we got.
nunya III
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 7:08 p.m.
I think I love you
a2grateful
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 6:37 p.m.
It's a lot of crashes for "1 to to" inches, no?
going nowhere
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 7:11 p.m.
because people refuse to slow down and leave early to get to their destination....so they speed and tailgate......next thing you know, BAM.......then they blame everyone else for their behavior.
Tyrone Shoelaces
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 5:58 p.m.
I don't see how two inches of snow should result in any problems. It didn't happen unexpectedly. It's February and this is Michigan. Since when do people in Michigan complain about two inches? Leave early, drive slow, take a different route than you usually do to avoid the steeper hills, and you'll be fine.
grimmk
Sat, Feb 23, 2013 : 7:34 a.m.
People shouldn't be driving rear wheeled cars in winter. It's just common sense.
MRunner73
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 7:41 p.m.
If it falls in 90 min time then it can cause major problems. The visibility was as low as a quarter mile. Horrible driving conditions and even worse for rear wheel drive vehicles.
WalkingJoe
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 7:01 p.m.
Agree 100% Tyrone.
Jeanette
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 5:14 p.m.
Took me 15 minutes on Whitmore Lake Road at 8:45 a.m. to get to Ann Arbor (passed a snow plow going the other way), about my usual time but 40 miles per hour, but then when I got to Ann Arbor, it took me 15 minutes to go down Main Street! Slip sliding all the way--nothing but 5 inches of mushy, icy mess--Ann Arbor's streets are always like this in a snow event--I shifted into low just to make it up the hill from Depot Street. And, yes, I was going real slow. Don't they ever clean the streets in downtown Ann Arbor?
grimmk
Sat, Feb 23, 2013 : 7:33 a.m.
FIVE inches? Really. We got TWO inches MAX. At least you go to your destination and didn't spin out or were in accident. It's snowing. It's winter time. Of course it will take you longer? What do you expect? If you want the road to be clear, get a plow truck yourself.
Cindy Heflin
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 5:33 p.m.
Hi Jeanette: This article by AnnArbor.com's Amy Biolchini has information about snow-plowing efforts in Ann Arbor today: http://www.annarbor.com/news/follow-city-of-ann-arbor-snow-plows-online-in-real-time/
MRunner73
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 5:05 p.m.
The heaviest snow fell between 7 and 10 AM. I measured 2.1 inches near downtown Ann Arbor at 10:30 after the snow ended. Accumulation rates were over an inch an hour for about 90 min which would have made for very poor driving all over the region. Salt trucks seem to be making great progress since the snow ended. Temperatures were rising through the 20s which helps a lot.
treetowncartel
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 4:52 p.m.
Drive for the conditions and you shouldn't have a problem
Chris
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 3:31 p.m.
I didn't think it was that bad. Slow down a bit, leave a little early and its all good. Michigan in February, people.
WalkingJoe
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 4:54 p.m.
Chris, I think you are so very right. My wife and I went out this morning and left early, got to where we were supposed to before our appointment. Roads were snowy but that didn't bother me, it was some of the other drivers tailgating, talking on cells and not slowing down in-spite of the snow. Oh, and I saw several county and city snow plows out for all the people complaining they weren't out.
AH48015
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 3:07 p.m.
This is ridiculous!! Why is the city paying to have a police car posted at the bottom of the Glen St. hill to prevent cars from trying to drive up it, when it could have paid to PROPERLY PLOW THE STREET INSTEAD???!!! It took me an hour to drive to my job on campus today instead of the usual 15 minutes. They have many times this much snow in places like Buffalo and Traverse City, and they actually clean the road there--it is possible to function in the winter!
OhioStater
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 5:09 p.m.
My hometown consistently gets at least 100 inches of snow every winter and never has the terrible road conditions that this area has. The problem here is that people don't want to spend enough tax money on snow removal. I'm appalled at the lack of snow plows here and the refusal to plow side streets and "get down to pavement".
Amy Biolchini
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 4:43 p.m.
AH48015, I just spoke with Kirk Pennington, field operations supervisor for the city of Ann Arbor. He said special signal timing options are available for lights on Glen Avenue during snow events because buses tend to get stuck on the hill when they have to stop mid-way on the hill at the light -- and police make the call to enact those special signals. This morning, Pennington said police did not enact the signals. City of Ann Arbor crews salted that portion of Glen Ave. twice at 7:24 a.m. and 8:20 a.m., but Pennington said the intensity of the snowfall likely delayed the effectiveness of the salt.
Tesla
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 3:57 p.m.
Move to Buffalo or Traverse City then. :)
justcurious
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 3:36 p.m.
I heard the officers calling for salt.
grimmk
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 2:58 p.m.
People are driving crazy out there! Where is merges down to two lanes on S Huron St at the intersection of Michigan Ave people were using the no parking space zone as a turn right lane!! I know people do it all the time but what if people in the right lane want to turn right? Stopping isn't so easy. And it is just rude. Slow down and wait your turn like everyone else. And when the sign say NO TURN ON RED obey it.
dancinginmysoul
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 2:41 p.m.
The roads seriously suck. I haven't seen a single salt truck or plow. Stay home of you can, it's nasty.
dancinginmysoul
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 8:17 p.m.
Thanks Kyle. The roads were significantly better after 10:30. Coming West to Ann Arbor there was at least 4 inches of ice slush on all the roads. The primary roads may have initially plowed but it wasn't enough to keep up with the rapid snow fall (we saw nearly 2.5 inches in less then 3 hours). I sort of accept that the roads won't ever be "perfect" but it's certainly frustrating when the roads are nearly impassable. And then to have schools remain open, despite watching buses sliding all over was somewhat disconcerting.
Kyle Mattson
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 6:07 p.m.
Hi dancing- Here's a photo I took around 10:30 on M-14. The entire stretch was actually in pretty good condition and much better than the was east of the county line in Wayne. http://ow.ly/i/1zb3V
dancinginmysoul
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 3:05 p.m.
I saw a private plow company. Does that count?
grimmk
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 2:59 p.m.
I have! Some on 94 east and west bound around state and us 23. And some on Huron St in Ypsilanti. Around 8 am.
fjord
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 2:38 p.m.
There's a pin on that map near the M-14 / I-94 crossover, but it makes it look like the crash is on M-14. Maybe there's one there too, but the one I saw was on westbound 94, between the eastbound M-14 overpass and the westbound M-14 merge. Minivan spun out into the ditch, windows all broken, looked like it took quite an impact. Hope the driver and any passengers are OK.
Pittsguy
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 2:35 p.m.
Yeah, the 1-2 inches forecast was surpassed about an hour after it started falling, and as of 9:35 it is STILL coming down. Definitely had more punch than was anticipated and the roads are a MESS.
81wolverine
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 2:27 p.m.
We've already gotten over 2" in Lodi Township and it's still snowing hard. They may want to revise the forecast.
justcurious
Fri, Feb 22, 2013 : 2:16 p.m.
Crashes continue to pile up around Ann Arbor. Just heard eastbound M-14, west of Barton... 9:15 am.