Road Crews Prepare for Winter Weather
JACKSON, Tenn.–Road crews prepare for a long night as winter weather moves into West Tennessee. Workers with the Tennessee Department of Transportation pretreated bridges and overpasses on Monday. “If you see our trucks out on the highway, slow down, stay behind them at a safe distance so they can do what they’re out there to do, which is to keep you safe,” said Nichole Lawrence, TDOT Community Relations Officer. Lawrence says crews will work through the night if necessary. They also have 30,000 tons of salt on hand. “We have 29 salt bins throughout the region that are placed you know in strategically throughout our counties,” said Lawrence. The Jackson Street Department has two salt trucks equipped with snow plows ready to go. “If we need anymore it won’t take but 10 to 15 minutes to get them ready to go,” said Johnny Weddle, a supervisor with the Jackson Street Department. Weddle says they do not pretreat city streets, but workers will monitor them overnight. If and when the roads get slick, crews will put salt on high priority areas first, like the hospital, then tackle major streets. “Don’t be out there unless you have to,” said Weddle. Both TDOT and the Jackson Street Department have crews ready to work around the clock.
