March 13, 2017 – Washington Co., WI – The Monday afternoon commute through Washington County is likely to test the patience of everyone behind the wheel.
Alternate routes include: 175 north from Holly Hill Road and Highway 145 north out of Germantown.
Washington County Highway Patrol superintendent Tom Schmidt said there were 24 trucks out the majority of the day. “We did have to shift a couple in and out because they’re running out of hours,” said Schmidt.
Crews hit the road at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday. The county has 37 plow drivers cycling in and out.
“Because of the blockages and spin outs on I41 there were some areas plows couldn’t get through and got tangled up in some of the traffic jams,” he said.
Moving through the evening the County Highway Department will have all hands on deck.
Schmidt has been with the county for 24 years and said this is one of the bigger winter events. “This just hit us spur of the moment,” said Schmidt. “There have been storms that are drawn out longer; weather wise the east side of the county got hit the worst but traffic volume on I41/45 is making for a challenging cleanup and a very slow commute.”
The vehicles in the ditch, according to Schmidt, is what brings traffic to a standstill.