TRAVERSE CITY - Road and utility crews across Northern Michigan worked through the past 48 hours to restore services following a winter storm that caused widespread power outages and dangerous travel conditions. Workers battled heavy snow, ice, and high winds to keep communities moving amid the severe weather.
The storm brought significant challenges to the region, including low visibility for drivers and damage to electrical infrastructure. While many residents stayed indoors, maintenance teams and linemen focused on clearing primary highways and restoring heat to local homes.
Josh Wiggins, a Grand Traverse County road maintenance worker, said crews have been working continuously to manage the snow. “During the last 48 hours, we focused a lot on the highways,” Wiggins said. “A lot of primaries. We try to get to the locals the best we can, but it’s go, go, go.”
Beyond the volume of snow, road workers faced extreme difficulty identifying their surroundings. Wiggins noted that blowing snow often obscured the pavement entirely. “The hardest part is to know where you’re at on the road, because sometimes the snow is blowing so hard that you lose the lines that tell you where you’re at on the road,” Wiggins said. “So your center lines and your white lines are gone. You don’t know what’s pavement or what’s dirt, so it can be challenging in that regard.”
Utility crews faced a different set of obstacles while working to bring electricity back to the region. Kyle Griffin, a journeyman lineman for Cherryland Electric, explained that while snow is manageable, other weather elements cause more significant issues. “With the snow, it’s not so much of a big deal,” Griffin said. “But the wind and the ice definitely play a big role.”
Despite the harsh conditions, utility workers emphasized that the importance of their role in providing essential services drives them to continue. Griffin said the community’s reliance on power for basic needs like home heating provides the necessary motivation for crews to work through the storm. “People are depending on us to not only keep their power on, but they also need that to heat their home. Stuff like that kind of helps us stay motivated,” Griffin said.