Delaware News

DelDOT plans to work through the night to battle winter storm

Department of Transportation | Date Posted: Thursday, January 2, 2014



Dover — As a winter storm arrives in Delaware, Department of Transportation personnel are planning to work through the night, if necessary, to make the roads as safe as possible for the morning commute. After spending the day pretreating the roads with salt and salt brine, crews in Kent and New Castle County will remain at work. They will be staging the plows throughout the state, so they can quickly respond as soon as the snow starts to fall.

In Sussex County, crews will be allowed to go home, but are expected to be called back to work later tonight, around 10 p.m. Supervisors will remain at work, monitoring road conditions. With the expected high winds and low temperatures, drifting may become a major challenge, with the snow blowing back onto roads that have already been plowed.

DelDOT Snow Operations Facts
Personnel
As many as 500 employees take part in snow removal operations.
— During severe storms, DelDOT hires private contractors to help with snow removal on bus routes, along highway shoulders, and with the clearing of crossover areas and intersections.

Equipment
Statewide, about 450 vehicles are available for snow operations.
— This includes trucks as well as graders and other tractors.

Materials
DelDOT primarily uses salt, along with salt/brine and salt/sand mixtures.
— We have approximately 65,000 tons of salt
— Salt is stockpiled in more than 20 locations throughout the state.
— Due to constant replenishment, salt stockpiles are currently full.

Driving Tips
Because the approaching storm will be accompanied by very cold temperatures which could create icy road conditions, DelDOT urges motorists to limit travel to essential trips, allow plenty of time to reach destinations, drive with lights on, wear warm clothing and carry a fully-charged cellular phone with contact information for someone who can be called for help in case of a roadside emergency.

In addition, motorists should make sure their vehicle has at least a half tank of fuel.

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DelDOT plans to work through the night to battle winter storm

Department of Transportation | Date Posted: Thursday, January 2, 2014



Dover — As a winter storm arrives in Delaware, Department of Transportation personnel are planning to work through the night, if necessary, to make the roads as safe as possible for the morning commute. After spending the day pretreating the roads with salt and salt brine, crews in Kent and New Castle County will remain at work. They will be staging the plows throughout the state, so they can quickly respond as soon as the snow starts to fall.

In Sussex County, crews will be allowed to go home, but are expected to be called back to work later tonight, around 10 p.m. Supervisors will remain at work, monitoring road conditions. With the expected high winds and low temperatures, drifting may become a major challenge, with the snow blowing back onto roads that have already been plowed.

DelDOT Snow Operations Facts
Personnel
As many as 500 employees take part in snow removal operations.
— During severe storms, DelDOT hires private contractors to help with snow removal on bus routes, along highway shoulders, and with the clearing of crossover areas and intersections.

Equipment
Statewide, about 450 vehicles are available for snow operations.
— This includes trucks as well as graders and other tractors.

Materials
DelDOT primarily uses salt, along with salt/brine and salt/sand mixtures.
— We have approximately 65,000 tons of salt
— Salt is stockpiled in more than 20 locations throughout the state.
— Due to constant replenishment, salt stockpiles are currently full.

Driving Tips
Because the approaching storm will be accompanied by very cold temperatures which could create icy road conditions, DelDOT urges motorists to limit travel to essential trips, allow plenty of time to reach destinations, drive with lights on, wear warm clothing and carry a fully-charged cellular phone with contact information for someone who can be called for help in case of a roadside emergency.

In addition, motorists should make sure their vehicle has at least a half tank of fuel.

image_printPrint

Related Topics:  , , ,


Graphic that represents delaware news on a mobile phone

Keep up to date by receiving a daily digest email, around noon, of current news release posts from state agencies on news.delaware.gov.

Here you can subscribe to future news updates.