TxDOT Crews Pretreat Roadways Ahead Of Freezing Temperatures
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - The Texas Department of Transportation isn't taking any chances with the weather.
Crews started spraying brine on major highways late Sunday in anticipation of Monday's arctic blast.
"Frankly the brine is a very cost effective preventive measure. So we feel it's worth the time and effort to go out there and pretreat it, in advance of any weather. Ultimately, we're going to do our part to make the road as safe as possible," said Val Lopez, TxDOT spokesperson.
As of Monday afternoon, the roads were dry and traffic was flowing. TxDOT wants it to stay that way, and put there brine trucks out on the road in hopes of maintaining good road conditions.
The fleet wasn't the rolling caravans you sometimes see, hitting all lanes... just a couple trucks, primarily hitting bridges and the spots that are known to ice up first in cold weather.
Not every agency is following suite, not yet anyways. The North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA)is going to wait until the rain moves out of the area, and then put down brine after temperatures drop.
Fort Worth had its crews on standby, waiting to see if they need to go out. But even with the chances of slick roads low with the storm, TxDOT decided it was worth it to send crews out.
North Texas isn't halfway through November yet and this is the second time crews have gone out already this season. They typically stockpile enough though to be ready for one of those long two or three day storm events, so these early runs aren't expected to impact preparations for the rest of the season.