TDOT shares road treatment plan ahead of possible winter storm

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) said they are gearing up three days before possible snowfall on Friday. Right now, three to five inches of snow is forecasted for Nashville on Friday.

Drivers shared their concerns while TDOT officials broke down their game plan for road treatments.

Late Monday, TDOT crews treated several areas on Interstates in the Midstate including Interstate 65, Interstate 40 and Interstate 840.

However, treatment for road conditions on Friday will begin as early as Wednesday, TDOT officials said.

“Right now, our plan is to start brining the roadways on Wednesday and Thursday,” Erin Zeigler with TDOT said.

Zeigler said they’re prioritizing how they plan to tackle road treatment, re-treatment and possible snow plowing.

“When it comes to plowing roads, our priority is going to be interstates first and our heavily traveled state routes and then our secondary state routes,” Zeigler said. “We apply brine and it’s going to be significantly more than what we did for this previous event…We’re looking for probably more precipitation and more accumulation.”

If and when snow starts to fall in the Midstate, Zeigler said TDOT trucks will switch to salting roads.

TDOT workers will also monitor the temperature of the roads using their “Smartway” cameras to keep up with road treatment.

To avoid crashes, TDOT workers are making other adjustments to their winter weather plans.

“We’re going to have some folks up to the Putnam county Line where they usually don’t go,” Zeigler said.

The workers will monitor those areas where they usually see more crashes during the winter season.

Some drivers said they hope other adjustments will be made to tackle icy neighborhood roads as well.

“Last year I remember the roads were iced for like the whole duration of the week,” said one resident, Ansley Salem. “I slid through my street for the whole week.”

This year, drivers in Nashville said they’d play it safe.

TDOT said they will plan to hold meetings in the next few days leading up to the storm to better assess the roads and create safer driving conditions.