ODOT Preparing For Weekend Snow

We could be looking at another big snow storm entering the area and the Ohio Department Of Transportation is already forming a plan of action.

ODOT’s Muskingum County Manager, Phil Valentine says that even though the snow fall won’t begin until later this evening the preparation and planning start now.

"Right now we’re getting our trucks pre-loaded, the cold temperatures over the past few days have really made our trucks work hard. So we’re getting a lot of them fixed up, plow repairs. We’re getting our salt stalked up, we’ve got a load coming in, we’re starting to figure out a schedule for the guys and we’ll rotate them around over 12 hour shifts this weekend."

ODOTS’s biggest hindrance with keeping the roadways safe this weekend will be the temperatures. According to Valentine keeping a dry pavement will be a struggle as salt loses its effectiveness in the cold.

"It really becomes a challenge on making the right choices. The salt drastically loses its effectiveness after 20 degrees and you start getting down in the teens it really really loses its effectiveness."

ODOT will be out all weekend long working on the roadways but Valentine urges people who do not need to drive to say off the roads as black ice is a foreseeable problem.