Raleigh – NCDOT crews in Division 5, which includes Wake and Durham counties, are ready to deal with the first potential winter weather event of the season.
With the forecast calling initially for cold rain, then the temperature falling to freeze wet surfaces, brining ahead of time wasn’t a viable option. Instead, the plan had maintenance crews loading up their trucks with sand and/or salt earlier today and then being sent home to rest. Those crews will return this evening and start treating bridges, overpasses and other locations where ice initially forms in such situations with the salt and sand. They will be joined by additional crews early in the morning to deal with any problems that develop as it becomes light and traffic begins to pick up for rush hour. The crews will continue to work on roadways as needed until the ice problem is over.
Crews will be following the statewide policy of having the initial effort concentrate initially on interstate and primary roads. That is a considerable amount of roadway, as Wake has 1,448 lane miles of interstates and primary roads and Durham has 586 lane miles.
In counties to the north in Division 5, which includes Franklin, Vance, Warren, Granville and Person, the winter weather impact is not expected to be as severe, and they have fewer roads to treat. All of them will have overnight crews in to handle problems as they develop, with more crews joining the effort early in the morning.
Because of the potentially dangerous conditions that ice on the roadways brings, the NCDOT reminds drivers that if they don’t have to go out in the morning, it will be safer to stay home until they have been cleared of ice.
NCDOT has produced several videos showing how maintenance crews use salt and sand to contend with snow and ice, and how crews determine the order in which they clear roads. 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 of ice before driving;
- Reduce speed and leave plenty of room between you and other vehicles in case either vehicle goes into a skid;
- Plan for significant additional travel time to reach your destination;
- Approach bridges and overpasses with extreme caution and do not apply your brakes while on a bridge or ramp 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 also trying to stop; and
- If you have a cell 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 is for emergencies only.
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.