DALLAS — Texas Department of Transportation officials said Sunday that crews will start pretreating the roads on Monday afternoon.
Crews will start working 24-hour shifts and will rotate. Officials say they’re in constant contact with state officials to make sure they’re prepared for what Mother Nature brings our way.
With the arctic cold weather, freezing rain and sleet headed our way, city officials say they’re going to make sure everything runs smoothly.
“That means we need everyone to have a plan. Have your supplies ready that you need,” said Dallas County Judge Clay Jenkins.
Jenkins says, in the case of widespread emergencies, he’s going to make sure to keep the public informed.
“I’ll be on the phone with the CEOs of the power company getting you the info you need,” said Jenkins.
TxDOT Dallas says pretreating will take place through the week.
“We’re out there pretreating the roads,” said Tony Hartzel, a spokesperson for TxDOT Dallas.
“Our spray trucks, loaded with brine, a salt mixture, it’s a liquid mixture that we spray on the roads,” said Hartzel.
As crews will start this two-step process of preparing ahead of time, the 6,000 bridges across the Dallas area are a priority.
“Those will ice over first. Drive to the conditions, and expect it will be frozen on those bridges,” said Hartzel.
As February’s deadly 133-car pileup remains on many residents' minds, people are being encouraged to stay off of the roads.
“We encourage people to stay home, or to drive to the conditions, expect you can see some ice out there,” said Hartzel.
And MedStar says, across the Fort Worth area, additional staff has already been called in.
“Also, extra personnel to staff our AMBUS, which is something we used in the winter event last year to respond to multiple cases if we need to,” said Matt Zavadsky of Medstar.
The bottom line?
“It’s best to stay in. We get black ice here, ice you can’t see, it’s slick,” said Jenkins.
Two important things to note TxDOT: If the speed limit is 70 and there is icing on the roads, it’s best you go way below the speed limit because we can’t see black ice. Also, officials are asking you don’t crowd the crews as they’re out there pretreating the roads.