State crews begin pre-treating roads in advance of ice, snow

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Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 1 highway crews will be pre-treating along Interstates and parkway. Crews began work about 7 a.m. Thursday in anticipation of an impending winter storm.

The KYTC SuperTanker will initially be running along I-24 between the Ohio River Bridge at the Kentucky-Illinois State Line to about the 74-mile marker near the Trigg-Christian County Line. Once I-24 is pre-treated the SuperTanker will move on to I-69 in Lyon County and then the Purchase Parkway.

Individual counties will have one or two trucks out pre-treating bridges, overpasses and potential trouble spots through the day.

The SuperTanker will be running about about 60 miles per hour, so the impact on traffic should be minimal. However, smaller tanker trucks have to run at slower speeds, generally around 45 to 50 miles per hour. Motorists are advised to slow down and use caution anytime they encounter one of our brine spray trucks.

As a reminder, brine is generated by mixing salt and water. When a brine solution is sprayed on pavement surfaces it dries to leave a fine powder that is available to be activated in the early hours of a snow and ice event. It initially helps to improve driving conditions, but also keeps snow and ice from bonding to the paving making it easier to plow off as the winter event continues.

KYTC crews generally don’t pre-treat when there is rain the forecast prior to the arrival of snow. However, due to the low cost of spraying brine, the District 1 Snow & Ice Team is optimistic that some of the pre-treating along these major routes and potential trouble spots will remain on the roadway to help improve driving conditions as a wintry mix followed by snow arrives late tonight.

Motorists are reminder to continually monitor the local weather forecast for updates. Our best advice is to slow down to adjust your driving speed to meet localized conditions.

Due to the arrival of ice expected prior tot he start of snow, KYTC Highway Crews may be limited in their ability to substantially improve driving condtions, particularly during the early hours of the event.

If drivers have to go to work on Friday morning KYTC suggests residents consider spending the night nearer the workplace to help minimize travel on Friday morning.