COLUMBUS, Ohio — Winter weather is on the way, and the Ohio Department of Transportation is ready.
Ohioans are preparing for more snow after experiencing winter weather over the weekend. In comparison to the storm the state saw around Christmas, this storm will have higher temperatures and wetter heavier snow making salt trucks much more effective.
“The temperatures will be closer to freezing, which means our salt will be very effective, so I think you’re going to see similar amounts of snow, but dramatically different results,” said Matt Bruning, who serves as the press secretary for The Ohio Department of Transportation.
ODOT uses brine, a salt water mix, to pretreat roads and then salt the roads once the storm hits. Bruning said the winter weather over the weekend gave their crews a head start on what’s to come.
“They’ve got enough residual salt already on the pavement that they’re not doing a ton of pre-treating,” said Bruning. “In the Dayton area, they have been doing some more pre-treating so it kind of varies from place to place, but they are going to have a layer of that salt down before this storm comes in, in the overnight hours.”
ODOT plans to have all hands on deck, dispatching 1,500 to 1,600 trucks early Wednesday morning. While different parts of the state might see more freezing rain and others more snow, Bruning said they are prepared to get through the storm.
“We may not get to a full 100% call out across the state of Ohio, but certainly in those areas where we are expecting that snow and those winter conditions, we’ll have everybody out on the road ahead of it during it and then after the storm to try to get things back up to speed quickly,” he said.
ODOT advises commuters to stay home or work from home if they can so their trucks can have the space to treat the roads, but if they can not, then they should give themselves plenty of time to get to work and plan for a longer commute.
For more details on the winter storm, click here.
