Local Road Crews Set To Tackle Pending Winter Storm
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Local road crews say they're ready to tackle the first winter storm of 2014.
A new year, and just like that, forecasts call for snow to blanket the region. PennDOT spokesman Gene Blaum says they tried to get to work about 48 hours before the winter storm's predicted arrival.
"PennDOT preparations began on New Year's Eve," he says. "We sprayed the salt brine on the major expressways and highways throughout the five-county region."
Blaum says they'll have 415 trucks standing by with plenty of salt to go around.
"We have stockpiled," he says. "We have 76,400 tons of salt stockpiled throughout the region."
And even though, in December, crews had to deal with four storms in about a week, Blaum says they've had a breather in between and will be ready for whatever Mother Nature decides to bring. They urge driver's to do the same, keeping a safe driving distance and moving at a slow speed.
Camden County freeholder Ian Leonard says crews will start putting a brine solution on their roads Thursday morning. And a midweek holiday didn't stop them from getting ready.
"It's been a holiday, but we've had people coming in," he says. "Obviously it's not a full staff because of the holiday, but as many people as we have in, (we're) getting all the trucks loaded with salt."
Forecasters are predicting as much as six inches of snow in the Philadelphia area.