Nature provided a bit of relief to Chicago-area residents Wednesday, but motorists in northwest Indiana were still feeling its wrath.
Blinding snow and frigid temperatures combined to make the Borman Expressway and Interstate Highway 65 all but impassable. Through the morning and early afternoon, wind whipped snow across the already hazardous roadways, making travel treacherous and forcing motorists to exit before their destinations.
“Our advice is stay away from these roads,” said Sgt. Shelli Reckert, spokeswoman for the Indiana State Police. “We are telling people that they are traveling at their own risk when they head onto these highways. Treacherous is an understatement.” Sgt. Reckert said portions of I-65 from Gary south to Lafayette were closed because of blinding snow.
The Borman Expressway was open Wednesday, but the going was slow. A milelong line of 18-wheelers snaked single-file east and west along the ice-packed road.
Officials said dozens of cars and tractor trailers abandoned on the Borman late Monday still littered the roadside early Wednesday. Crews were working to dig the vehicles out.
More than 30,000 northwest Indiana residents were still without power Wednesday. In Illinois, 51,000 homes and businesses were without power, including 19,000 in Chicago and 30,000 in the south suburbs. Commonwealth Edison officials expected to have most of those customers back in service by the end of the day.