State highway officials prep for snow

Although there is still some uncertainty on how much snow Delmarva we will see, road crews are not taking any chances, and have hit the ground running in preparation for it.

"We are prepping all of our equipment to make sure it is mechanically ready to handle the event that is coming our way ," says Dave Edwards,  the Assistant District Engineer for Maintenance at Maryland SHA.

"We've checked on our salt inventory, we have about 22,000 tons of salt in our various facilities within Sussex county and there is a lot more statewide," says Alastair Probert, the DelDOT South District Engineer.

However with freezing temperatures expected, salt alone won't do the trick.   

"The cold temperatures will definitely be a challenge for us as the event progresses ," says Probert.

"With temperatures lower than 20 degrees salt loses its effectiveness," says Edwards.

To remedy that crews are using a mixture of salt and brine.

"That helps in breaking that bond with ice forming on the pavement," says Probert.

One thing crews can't prepare for is the chance for strong winds combined with snow. 

"What that is going to do is take the snow that is out on the fields and along the road ways and blow it out into the roadways, so we are going to handle it several time because of the winds in the end," says Edwards.

VDOT has also begun pre-treating roads. Regardless of what state you're in the advice is the same.  All officials are urging  motorists to avoid any unnecessary travel on icy or snow covered roads, as well as maintaining a safe distance from plows.