NCDOT Crews in Division 5 Switch to Cleanup Role Following Winter Weather


Raleigh – NCDOT crews from Wake, Durham and surrounding counties are continuing to work on clearing major roads after 2 to 6 inches of snow fell overnight. Division 5 also includes Warren, Franklin, Vance, Granville and Person counties.

I-40, I-440, I-540 and I-85 within the Division are mostly clear with patches of snow still on the highways. The Durham Freeway and Triangle Expressway are also passable without many issues.

In Wake and Durham counties, work today is concentrating on clearing as much snow and ice off the interstates and major primary routes as possible. The overnight temperature is expected to be in the single digits, and salt won’t melt any frozen precipitation below 19 degrees. So clearing the primary roads during the day will help lower the number of icy spots that remain on them for overnight drivers and Thursday morning commuters.

Warren, Franklin, Vance, Granville and Person counties do not have as many major roads as Wake and Durham counties and their crews are able to work on secondary roads today. Cleanup work in all seven counties is expected to continue through at least Friday, when temperatures will warm and begin to melt the snow and ice.

Crews follow a pre-established order when removing snow and ice. They begin with interstate and four-lane divided primary routes, as well as some primary and secondary routes considered essential to the movement of intrastate traffic. These roads get the highest priority, because they carry the largest number of vehicles and serve as critical connections between cities and towns. Crews then concentrate on other U.S. and N.C. routes and paved secondary routes not already addressed.

Since weather preps started earlier this week, Division 5 has used 289 workers, 170 trucks, 27 road graders, 40 contractor trucks and graders, and 3,022 tons of salt to initially brine the roads and now treat them to melt snow and ice. 

NCDOT has produced several videos showing how maintenance crews use salt and sand, and how they decide which roads to clear first. These videos and many others are available on the NCDOT YouTube page.

NCDOT offers the following safety tips for driving in winter weather:

  • Clear windows and mirrors;
  • Reduce speed and leave plenty of room between you and other vehicles;
  • Approach bridges and overpasses them with extreme caution and do not apply your brakes while on a bridge unless necessary;
  • If you begin to slide, take your foot off the gas and turn the steering wheel in the direction of the slide. Do not apply the brakes as that will cause further loss of control of the car;
  • Come to a complete stop or yield the right of way when approaching an intersection in case any vehicles coming from other directions lose control of their vehicles while trying to stop.
  • If you have a cellular phone, take it with you. You can contact the Highway Patrol statewide by calling *HP (*47) or call law enforcement by dialing 911. But please don’t call 911 to check on road conditions. That line must be kept open for emergencies.

For real-time travel information at any time, call 511, visit www.ncdot.gov/travel or follow NCDOT on Twitter at www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter. Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT website. To access it, type “m.ncdot.gov” into the browser of your smartphone and bookmark it to save for future use.

You can also get emergency information from the N.C. Department of Public Safety at http://readync.org, and download the ReadyNC app to help you prepare for everything from road conditions to severe storms on a daily basis. It is available for free in the AppStore for iPhones and Google Play for Android devices.