Jackson mayor discusses road condition plans and problems

JACKSON, Tenn. –  As many people in Jackson continue to voice their displeasure over road conditions in the city after the winter storm, Jackson Mayor Scott Conger said their plan for future storms is to get salt down prior to the storm.

“Getting salt down prior to it coming down and then working and there was just so much precipitation and once the ice started and the temperatures got so low, our trucks have rubber boots on the bottom of the snowplows. They weren’t able to penetrate that ice once it bonded,” said Conger.

Since then, many of the roads in Jackson still remain dangerous. Conger said they have had some mechanical issues with their equipment.

“We’ve had hydraulic hoses break on a number of our plows and had to go in and get repaired. The hoses for the brake line for our commercial grader, the break lines on those messed up so we had to order parts on that. So, it took us out on that which would have been way more effective,” said Conger.

We asked Conger how the city could be better prepared before the next storm.

“If we can get some blades that can go on our 1 ton trucks so we can disperse more trucks out because, right now, the ones we have, we’re limited 2-fold. One – the amount of trucks we have and two the amount of drivers because it requires a CDL. So, if we were to get the blades to go on the 1 ton trucks then anyone of our employees with a license can drive those,” said Conger.

The mayor said they have been looking at renting a grader to help with some of the ice problems.

We will continue to give you updates regarding the road conditions as the days move forward.

For more winter weather coverage, click here.