MILWAUKEE, Wis. — It's the second day in a row city crews have been out on Milwaukee's east side working to free cars from ice.
Several cars on Franklin Place, just south of Brady Street, are frozen to the ground after a water main broke and flooded the street Tuesday night.
"I didn't realize how bad it was at first because the whole street was destroyed, so I walked down the middle of the road. On the other side of my car, the wheels aren't as encased, but they're coated in ice, so I just thought there was ice in my car. Then I got in and realized I couldn't move it," resident Rachel Weiss said.
A warm welcome for Weiss' first Wisconsin winter.
"I asked all my coworkers, like, 'Is this normal? Did I do something wrong?' and no one had ever seen that before," Weiss explained.
TMJ4's Jenna Rae and Weiss spent the morning watching city crews chip away at the ice, breaking it up, and clearing it from the street.
Watch: East siders' cars still stuck in ice after water main break Tuesday night
"I mean, I appreciate it. I'm happy about it, because I don't know what I would've done," Weiss added.
Franklin is now drivable, but several cars remain stuck.
City crews sprinkled salt around the stuck cars. A spokesperson for the city's water works department said the salt helps break down the ice faster.
However, TMJ4's meteorologists said the ice likely won't melt until Sunday afternoon, when temperatures are expected to rise above freezing.
Some people, like Paul Spencer, aren't waiting on warm weather or salt.
"I got a call from a friend. He said he was stuck down here, so I let him know, 'Hey, I got tools. I can try and get you out,' and our efforts worked. We were able to get him out and another person, so we thought, 'Hey, we can help everyone on this block,'" Spencer said.
Our camera caught Spencer freeing a car from the ice. He left fliers for other neighbors who may need his help.
"We'll get them out for a reasonable price and kind of work with them. If they can't afford it, we'll do it for free," he said.
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