TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) – With ice and snow on the way, street crews are hard at work, preparing for the worst. Thousands of people are expected to hit the road this holiday weekend.
Vigo County Road Crews are Preparing for Potential Storm
Knowing the weather can quickly change, Vigo County Commissioner Chris Switzer says they are closely watching the weather forecast.
Vigo County will have 13 tandem axle trucks – Eight one tons and two single-axle trucks.
Their goal is to tackle main roads first – This includes Darwin, Trueblood, Harlan, Sarah Myers, and more. After, they will hit secondary roads and subdivisions.
Vigo County will have many workers around the clock with 12-hour shifts.
With the possibility of rain, Switzer says it may not be possible to “Pre-treat” any of the roads.
“So it’s really hard for us to pre-treat them roads with expensive material if it’s just going to be washed off by rain. So we have to go to that point of when it converts to rain, to potentially ice or snow. We’ll put that material down at that time,” said Switzer.
Preparing Roads for Potential Cold Weather
The Terre Haute Street Department says it’s ahead of schedule. It has already started preparing trucks for the potential snow.
The department plans on running thirteen workers on 12-hour shifts.
No matter what the weather is, the Terre Haute Street Department is prepared.
“Whether we’re going to get half of an inch of rain and transition into the snow, it’s snow straight out of the gate. Talking an inch to three inches or so or five to seven, we just have a full crew to come twelve hours straight… Major snow event, we’re talking eight plus inches, we’ll plow the entire town, that’s 800-810 lane miles,” said Bryan Driskell, Lead Foreman of Terre Haute Street Department.
You shouldn’t pass snow plows on city streets. If you need to pass one on a state highway, do it with caution.
“If you do have to pass them, do so very carefully. It’s expected to bring potential low visibility conditions, so it’s already a bit harder for our drivers to see if your right up on them, so just give them space and other vehicles space,” said Megan Delucenay, Indiana Department of Transportation.
INDOT says to be very cautious on the roads and to plan ahead if you’re traveling for the holidays.