Tuesday's morning commute became scary for a Wauwatosa man when he drove his vehicle unexpectedly through high water. Michael Giordano says he almost crashed. The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says water on area roadways could be the norm in the rainy weather depending on the construction area.
Even without severe weather, the morning commute on I-94 has been a challenge for drivers for months. The Zoo Interchange is under construction and lanes are shifted. When Giordano was heading east Tuesday morning he expected some wet pavement, but he says he never expected to be driving through a foot of standing water.
"Suddenly, I was in about 12 inches of water, no steering for about 50 feet at least and luckily I didn't tap my breaks or I know very well you can hydroplane," Giordano says.
DOT officials claim there were no reports of flooded freeways, but there was some standing water, which can be just as dangerous, and even more common. According to officials, temporary pavement is installed in construction areas and drainage is not as efficient as a normal stretch of roadway.
"The water will pool together and when you are coming through there if you are going too fast for conditions you could hydroplane so you need to control the speed going through," says Michael Pyritz,
WisDOT, regional communications manager for the southeast.
In other words, slow down in construction zones, especially during weather events.
Although Giordano says he was going the speed limit, officials say that limit is only designed for clear road conditions.
"You have to slow down and when you have weather like this you need to slow down further. It's not appropriate to going what would be posted for dry, bright conditions," says Pyritz.
Officials also say there was a sign was out by mid-morning warning of high water, but Giordano says it was not in place, when he drove to work Tuesday morning.
"The sheriff department needs to be there closing lanes and monitoring the situation," says Giordano.
DOT officials say they already do that, but ultimately the responsibility is on drivers to be on guard in construction zones. The Milwaukee County Sheriff's office and their cameras monitor the freeways for dangerous conditions. Officials try to get warning up on electronic signs as soon as they see something dangerous.
