MONROE — Freezing drizzle moved in late Wednesday night and caused havoc on streets across the southern part of Wisconsin — causing slide-offs, accidents, and sidewalk slip-and-falls across a wide region. 

The ice did not spare Green and Lafayette counties.

“It was a tough night for us at the Highway Department,” said Green County Highway Commissioner Chris Narveson. 

But crews were out in force, early and often, he added.

“As people know, we do not provide 24-hour plow service unless there is an ice storm,” said Narveson. “That being said, all trucks were out at 7 p.m. and salted roads until 4 a.m. this morning (Thursday).”

Green County Sheriff Cody Kanable said he was pleasantly surprised that there were no reported slide-offs or weather-related crashes Wednesday night and Thursday morning, even though those were reportedly widespread in parts of southern Wisconsin, according to a WISDOT advisory.

“Knock on wood, we actually came out pretty good,” said Kanable. “We were unscathed as far as vehicle (incidents) …normally that’s all we do.”

Green County Road crews played a big role, he added.

“With this being an all-night storm fighting operation we did not see a lot of vehicles in the ditch.  I am proud to say that our crews were prompt and effective in this storm,” said Narveson. “There were many times during the night that the roads were so slick that the trucks could only travel at 10 m.p.h.”

In Green County, increasingly, liquid brine is being applied to roads before and after road salt to boost salt’s effectiveness and reduce the amount of the expensive resource that is often wasted during hasty application. Some of Green County’s biggest plow trucks have been fitted with conformal liquid tanks to serve as dual purpose — salt and brine — applicators. 

“Our department dispatched clean-up patrol trucks at 7 a.m. this morning to keep checking the roads for any refreezing,” he said. “The storm in general was more severe than what was predicted.” 

But the county was ready — Green County officials hosted the first-ever “Salt Wise” event here last October by Narveson and Allison Madison, a Wisconsin Salt Wise program manager. It was a chance for road officials from different agencies to learn more about how to do more effective ice removal using less corrosive rock salt.

Kanable also credited the motoring public for either staying home or being careful during the ice event.

“I commend the public for keeping it in between the lines,” he said.