Crews prepare for more snow in Roanoke
ROANOKE, Va. (WDBJ) - Crews with the Virginia Department of Transportation and the city of Roanoke have begun working around the clock to be ready for snow.
VDOT crews pretreated roads all day Thursday and into Friday morning to help prevent the expected snow from bonding to the pavement.
VDOT spokesman Jason Bond says after the flakes fall, it may take more time to get to secondary roads and neighborhood streets. He advised people to be aware of how the weather may impact or delay their travels.
“With these cold temperatures on the way after this particular storm, that will create the potential for icing, and when we do get to those secondary roads we probably won’t see bare pavement until the temperatures warm up,” says Bond. “So folks really need to plan ahead for that.”
The city of Roanoke’s trucks are also getting their fills, and refills, of salt and brine.
Transportation Division Manager Dwayne D’Ardenne says the process will be more efficient this time around, not just because less snow is expected, but because the first event of the year is already under their belt.
“At this point, we have everybody out in their zones, they’re just waiting for the snow to get on the streets and start accumulating,” says D’Ardenne. “We’ve got about 95 snow fighters between day shift to night shift who work 12-hour shifts who’ll be here for the duration until the streets are back to blacktop.”
During the last event, crews used almost 2,000 tons of salt.
“The barn holds almost 6,000 tons, so with 2,000 used, we arguably have about 3,000 left because it wasn’t full when we started,” adds D’Ardenne.
Here are some things citizens can remember to make this snowfall, and removal, go smoothly:
- Park your vehicle in your garage or driveway if possible, or park on the odd side of the street to give snowplows more room to push the snow off the street.
- Property owners are responsible for removing snow from their driveways and sidewalks in front of their homes.
- If parking downtown, officials advise parking in a garage.
- Be respectful of road crews and give them space to work.
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