MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The Tennessee Department of Transportation is gearing up Thursday for what they call a rare weather event.
With temperatures dropping and snow and ice expected, trucks at the Arlington lot were getting ready to keep roads clear. TDOT Spokesperson Nichole Lawrence says crews are prepared.
“We have around 25,000 tons of salt on hand now, and probably 500-600 gallons of our salt brine mixed, and we’re continually mixing and replacing that in our storage bins,” Lawrence said.
TDOT officials say their priority is pre-treating interstates, but they also help out with major city routes like Poplar Avenue.
But TDOT officials acknowledge that treating rare weather events involves some trial and error.
“These temperatures, the windchill, this is not something I don’t think we’ve had in the last 20-plus years,” Lawrence said. “We’ve just got to monitor the system and we’ll add additives, whether that’s calcium chloride or potato juice.”
TDOT sometimes uses potato juice in their mix to help keep ice off roads.
TDOT started pre-treating roads and bridges Wednesday. They say the treatments should stick because the rain Thursday was light.
They’re asking people to stay off the roads all evening and into Friday if they can.