Crews prep for second round of winter weather
MADISON COUNTY, Tenn. — Local officials talked about preparation be done to prepare the area for a second day of winter weather.
“Right now we are pre-salting. The moisture on the street is just right to kind of a pre-treat with salt, rock salt,” said Johnny Weddle, the Superintendent of the Street Department in Jackson.
Many people that we have talked to are expecting Tuesday night to be worse than last night. With greater chances of snow during this cold weather, many local counties and cities are preparing for a worse outcome than they expected to get last night.
“We started out with one truck this morning. We put two trucks on. We salted over 35 bridges in the City of Jackson as of this morning. I am kind of looking to be expecting more on this second round,” Weddle said.
TDOT says they feel like they know where the worst of it will be Tuesday night.
The salt trucks and snow plows will be ready to go to work if they are needed. They are using a calcium chloride additive in their salt brine that should help melt any precipitation that falls on the roads over the next few hours.
“I think this system is going to be a little more south. So the systems that are along I-40 and south of I-40. We will have our crews ready to get out there and fight the system as needed,” said Nichole Lawrence, the Community Relations Officer for TDOT.
TDOT is urging people to stay safe for the foreseeable future. They want to make sure that you are aware of the current state of the roads at all times before going out.
They say patience and flexibility is important during these weather conditions. TDOT’s SmartWay app is a great place to look for dangerous roads.
“I always want to add for folks that don’t have to be out in these conditions to try to stay home or to work from home. But if you do, plan ahead. You know, leave earlier, leave later. Just try to be flexible to adjust your travels times when you can,” Lawrence said.
Chester and Henderson County road supervisors shared that they are mainly worried about tree branches falling onto roads.
They both said they are prepared for that to happen and will be getting them cleared as soon as possible.
Find live radar, hour-by-hour forecasts and more in the WBBJ Weather app.
