Slip slidin’ away in downtown Fort Worth

February 24,2015

With road crews successfully clearing the sleet-covered highways overnight, commuters had little trouble Tuesday morning — unless they were coming into downtown Fort Worth, where many streets and sidewalks remained slick with ice.

“Be careful, I already slipped there,” warned Gayle York, a downtown resident, as she carefully placed her feet over patches of ice on West 7th Street. “I didn’t fall, but I realized, boy you better be careful.”

The downtown streets weren’t any better than the ice-covered sidewalks, with the city temporarily closing West 6th Street to treat it for ice. Fort Worth police requested that street be treated because of stranded motorists and accidents, said Cpl. Tracey Knight, police spokeswoman.

Typically, though, the city doesn’t treat surface streets, but instead focuses its manpower and supplies on the hilly areas and bridges, said Michelle Gutt, city spokeswoman.

“Right now they are still out working on the bridges and hilly areas, where if people hit the ice it is a lot more dangerous,” Gutt said.

City crews worked throughout the night to keep roadways clear, using 18 trucks and a total of 645 tons of sand/salt mixture to treat the roads. Bridges were also scraped last night.

Downtown streets will likely take longer to thaw because of the shade created by skyscrapers and landscaping, Gutt said.

Josh Henderson, who commutes from Benbrook to downtown, said the interstates were in better shape than the downtown streets — which he expected.

“We understand they have other priorities right now,” he said, saying it makes sense to treat the most dangerous areas first. Pedestrians and drivers downtown, like himself, just need to move a little slower.

Charlie Duvall, dayside supervisor for the Downtown Public Improvement District No. 1, said a crew of 10 men worked from 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday chipping ice and clearing a 3-foot path along the sidewalks in the central business district.

The crew first worked up and down Main, Houston and Throckmorton streets, between Belknap and Ninth streets.

A crew of nine men returned at 7:30 a.m. Tuesday to pick up where they left off, and branched off to the other streets, Duvall said. They also put down deicing pellets.

Duvall said it’s not an easy task removing the ice, but said this storm doesn’t compare to the ice storm that hit the week of the Super Bowl in 2011, when ESPN broadcasted from Sundance Square.

“We chipped ice for six days that week,” Duvall said. “With ice and snow, I’m never pleased. You make progress as best you can.”

If it snows as expected, crews will be back at it again Wednesday morning.

STAFF WRITER SANDRA BAKER CONTRIBUTED TO THIS REPORT.

Caty Hirst, 817-390-7984

Twitter: @catyhirst