Icy roads create hazardous conditions in Peoria as authorities say 'don't travel'
Icy road conditions in the Peoria area Monday morning caused schools to close, public transit to shut down and led to warnings from authorities not to travel.
Peoria County Sheriff's Office and the Illinois State Police urged people to stay home, if possible.
"Road conditions are wet and ice covered. If you do not need to travel - don't, stay home," Illinois State Police said. Emergency crews are responding to multiple crashes and vehicle slide offs. Give emergency crews room to work, slow down, if possible change lanes and proceed with caution."
"Please do not go out on roads this morning if it’s not necessary," the Peoria County Sheriff's Office said. "Deputies have responded to several injury accidents on Interstate 74 and several cars stuck on hills due to ice."
Peoria city officials said they expected freezing rain conditions to persist throughout the day.
"Arterial streets are wet and may be slick in isolated spots such as low-lying or shaded areas," Peoria Public Works said. "Residential streets are covered with a glaze of ice and are slick. Please use extreme caution on residential streets and give yourself extra stopping distance."
Trash pick up in Peoria was also delayed Monday.
"Due to extra crews and potential delays after the storm, your pick-up time might be different than usual," Peoria Public Works said in a statement. "To avoid missing a collection, recycling and trash carts must be set out by 6 am the day before your scheduled day. Please do not place carts on snow piles or in the street."
CityLink announced that public transit would "temporarily suspended" on Monday.
"We regret to inform you that, due to current icy roads conditions, we have made the decision to temporarily suspend services for the safety of passengers and staff," CityLink said. "Our team is monitoring the road conditions and we will resume when roads are clear."
A trove of Peoria County buildings were closed Monday as well, including: Peoria County Courthouse; Veterans Assistance Commission; Peoria County Election Commission; Peoria County Animal Protection Services lobby; Peoria City/County Health Department offices; and the Highway Department.
The sheriff's office, jail and juvenile detention center are staffed and functioning Monday but the lobby, visitations and records are closed.
Ameren Illinois posted a warning that travel was dangerous Monday and reminded people to stay away from downed power lines.
School closings on Monday, Jan. 22
Peoria Public Schools announced remote classes for Monday.
Bartonville Grade School was closed Monday.
Dunlap schools were closed Monday.
Illini Bluffs District 327 was closed Monday.
Elmwood District 322 was closed Monday.
Illinois Central College is closed Monday. (ICC had previously been closed until just 5 p.m.)
East Peoria elementary schools and high school were closed Monday.
Limestone High School was closed Monday.
Morton schools were closed Monday.
Peoria Notre Dame held remote classes.
Pekin High School had remote classes Monday.
Pekin School District 108 closed Monday.
Washington Public Schools were closed Monday.
Peoria's weather forecast
Rain is expected to persist into Monday night, with a potential to turn into more freezing rain, according to the National Weather Service.
Rain is expected to stick around into Tuesday morning, but highs are expected to be around 37 degrees with lows around 33 degrees.
Wednesday figures to offer more rain and higher temperatures around 41 degrees.
There is a 40% chance of rain on Thursday, and high temperatures are expected to stay in the 40s.
High temperatures will stay in the 40s on Friday and it is expected to be mostly cloudy with no rain predicted by the NWS.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: Peoria authorities say 'don't travel' due to icy road conditions
