Facilities & Services – Winter Storm Preparations
January 5, 2025 9:14 AM

Dear Campus Community,

As winter weather approaches, Facilities & Services (F&S) is preparing for snow and ice conditions that are expected to impact the Champaign area. According to the National Weather Service, a winter storm is forecasted to affect central Illinois with heavy snow likely across much of central and southeast Illinois. The Champaign area is expected to receive between 4 and 8 inches of snow from Sunday, January 5 into early Monday, January 6, making it essential that F&S continues its snow and ice management efforts across campus.

Priority Parking Lots 
To manage parking during snow events, F&S has designated specific lots for continuous snow removal. Details on priority parking lots, including the locations of lots cleared throughout the event, can be found on the F&S website: https://fs.illinois.edu/snow-ice-removal.

• Lot B4, Levels Four and Five (North Campus) – Located at the corner of University Avenue and Mathews Avenue.
• Shuttle Lot E14 (South Campus) – West of the State Farm Center, south end only.
• Lot F27 (South Campus) – Adjacent to the Veterinary Medicine Basic Sciences Building.

F&S encourages individuals to use these lots and MTD shuttle service until additional lots are cleared.

Snow and Ice Management Operations
F&S teams are already mobilizing to manage snow and ice removal across the campus. With a dedicated team of over 125 members—including building service personnel, drivers, groundskeepers, operating engineers, and support staff—F&S will begin clearing operations ahead of the storm and continue working in shifts around the clock to ensure campus accessibility.

F&S is responsible for clearing over 90 miles of sidewalks, 23 miles of roadways, 16,000 parking spaces, and entrances to more than 200 university buildings. This extensive task requires careful coordination to maintain safe pathways for students, faculty, staff, and visitors. Additionally, F&S works closely with municipal partners in Champaign and Urbana to address areas where jurisdictional responsibilities overlap, ensuring that both city and campus roadways are cleared in a timely manner.

Snow and Ice Reporting Tool
If you encounter areas that need attention, please report them via this form: https://go.fs.illinois.edu/SnowIceRemovalRequest. You’ll be asked to provide the location, type of issue, and your contact information for follow-up, if needed. This tool is intended for use after storm events, allowing crews to prioritize areas that need repeated clearing.

For questions or concerns about snow removal, please contact the F&S Service Office fsserviceoffice@illinois.edu, 217-333-0340.

Importance of Pretreatment
Ahead of the storm, F&S Grounds and Transportation crews will apply a brine solution (a mixture of rock salt and water) to streets, parking lots, and sidewalks. This pretreatment helps to melt snow and ice before it accumulates, preventing snow and ice from adhering to surfaces. The brine solution is applied proactively, allowing for easier snow removal when plowing begins, and it also helps protect the campus landscape.

Coverage Areas
F&S is responsible for maintaining all university-owned streets. Where jurisdictional responsibilities overlap with the cities of Champaign and Urbana, F&S has established intergovernmental agreements to ensure snow and ice removal is handled efficiently. For a map of the street coverage areas, visit https://fs.illinois.edu/street-jurisdiction.

We appreciate your patience and cooperation as F&S crews work to keep the campus accessible during winter weather events. Please give our crews the space they need to perform their work and help maintain safe pathways, roads, and entrances across campus.

If you have questions about how this predicted storm will impact you as an employee, please visit this weather-related message from Illinois Human Resources.

Sincerely,

Jeffrey Angiel
 Associate Vice Chancellor and Executive Director, Facilities & Services