Snow Cleanup Continues a Week Later in Mokena

The blizzard of 2011 may be over and the roadways may be clear, but high drifts are still bunched on Mokena street corners. On some streets, driving lanes are still narrowed by snow drifts. 

For now, Public Works employees are trying to maintain clear roadways by pushing the snow back on street corners, Public Works Director Lou Tiberi said.

But it doesn't look like the snow's going away anytime soon. Tiberi said he was hopeful warmer weather in the next few weeks could melt most of the snow, but the village doesn't have the equipment to remove drifts from the street corners.

The snow that was removed from Mokena streets and parking lots last week was dumped onto vacant lots owned by the village and onto dry ponds throughout town, Tiberi said. The main issue is to keep drifts from becoming an obstruction to drivers, he said.

Tiberi described the blizzard as an "unusually expensive" snowstorm because of the large amount of overtime workers put in to clear the roads. Two crews alternated 12-hour shifts during the storm. He said the village should determine the cost of the storm by the end of the week.