Drivers brace for possible winter weather, transportation officials share preparation plan
Transportation workers said really, the best way to stay safe in winter weather is to stay off the roads.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WSMV) - The Tennessee Department of Transportation and the Nashville Department of Transportation started working Friday on winter weather road preparation for a possible weekend storm.
Dozens of brine trucks were all over Nashville and other Tennessee roads treating them for possible ice and snow Sunday and Monday morning.
Both TDOT and NDOT officials said their crews were focusing on bridges and overpasses because those portions of the road always freeze over first.
“I heard that there was a big storm over this part of the country and that we were going to get part of it,” Marcia Tambellini, a Nashville resident, said.
Tambellini said she’s lived in Nashville for more than 20 years, and she’s seen roads become pretty dangerous because of snow and ice.
When she heard about the possible winter storm headed for Nashville, she started to worry.
“The going to work thing on Monday is very questionable,” Tambellini said.
TDOT Communications officer Erin Zeigler said the department has worked all year long to prepare and make sure 2025 is different than 2024.
“TDOT crews are already hitting the road applying brine to the roadways and really focusing on north of I-40, so we’re hitting those bridges, overpasses, high elevation areas, we’re also paying special attention to the downtown loop,” Zeigler said.
Zeigler said the department has stocked up on gallons of brine, tones of salt and have workers putting extra brine on parts of the road they’ve seen become issues in years past.
“We also have a big construction job on I-40 in Humphreys County that’s on bridges, so we’re heavily brining that as well,” Zeigler said.
NDOT officials said they also brined 31 routes throughout the city.
Some drivers said they’d rather not risk it if roads get dicey.
“I will not drive in the ice if things look unsafe, and if the temperature isn’t going to get at least 32, and if I can’t get out of my driveway, I just don’t go,” Tambellini said.
NDOT officials said they have 40 snowplow trucks ready to use if snow falls. TDOT officials said they’ll have a meeting Saturday to assess and decide if there are any problem places, they need to focus on.
Transportation workers said really, the best way to stay safe in winter weather is to stay off the roads.
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