Mail carriers only delivered "very limited amounts" of mail to a handful of Downtown locations Wednesday because snow-covered roads made it nearly impossible to distribute from the Downtown plant, U.S. Postal Service spokesman Mark Reynolds said. No mail deliveries were made in the suburbs.
All mail carriers are expected to report for duty Thursday, but the amount of mail actually delivered depends on how much snow remains on the streets and sidewalks, Reynolds said. "It all starts with the mail we are able to get out of the Downtown plant to the delivery stations plus how many carriers get to work," Reynolds said. "Then we will determine what each station can do based on the delivery area."
Reynolds encouraged residents to clear their sidewalks so mail carriers can get from building to building faster.
However, cleared sidewalks will do no good in areas where side streets have not been plowed and mail trucks cannot access, Reynolds said. The city's Department of Streets & Sanitation has not indicated as of Wednesday night when plows will move from the main roads to the side streets.
The volume of mail is not expected to be much more than normal because very little was mailed Wednesday and no letters or packages were allowed to fly in to either Chicago airport Wednesday.
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