Mixed response to city plow efforts

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (WANE) - The aftermath of Tuesday night's weather affected travel for folks around Fort Wayne.  Snow plows battled up to 10 inches of snow. But on Wednesday, drivers had different opinions on if the plowing efforts were enough.

Many drivers told NewsChannel 15 they were frustrated with the condition of roads like State Blvd. and West Jefferson Blvd.  Kenny Kirkpatrick traveled from Marion Tuesday morning.  He was surprised, when the worst part of his trip was West Jefferson Boulevard.

"I couldn't believe it," Kirkpatrick said.  It didn't look like it [W. Jefferson] had been plowed at all down the middle.  I thought Fort Wayne would surely put sand and salt on the main thoroughfares once I got to town. But oh my, that was something else."

The city said it took longer to clear those roads because of wind, and the type of snow that came down.

Still other drivers thought road conditions weren't too bad considering the amount of snow that accumulated.  Adam Ward drove to work from New Haven to the southwest side of Fort Wayne Wednesday morning. 

"It didn't take me five or 10 minutes more than it usually does every day," Ward said.

NewsChannel 15 brought drivers' concerns to Frank Suarez, director of public works with the city of Fort Wayne.  Suarez said 40 trucks were deployed around 6:00 Tuesday night. 

The plows hit the main roads first, and moved onto the secondary roads Wednesday.  Suarez said the main roads were passable by Wednesday morning.

Suarez said Fort Wayne plows started on residential areas Wednesday afternoon.  They will be working through the night to clear the roads.

Allen County officials said their 33 plows weren't sent out until 3:00 a.m. Tuesday.  They said they didn't think plowing during the snow would have made much of a difference.