Tuesday, January 7, 2025–5:50 p.m.
-David Crowder, WRGA News-
Everyone is keeping a close on the weather, as there is a chance for some wintry precipitation Friday afternoon into Saturday.
Floyd County Public Works Director Michael Skeen said the county has brine tanks that can be used even before any snow or freezing rain begins falling.
“We will start pre-treating with a saltwater mix that helps keep it from sticking and helps keep it from freezing,” he said. “We’ve had good success with that the last few years, but we have not had a significant event either. So, I am curious to see if this does turn into some kind of significant snow, what kind of effect it will have.”
According to Skeen, the county has 740 miles of roads and it would be impossible to treat them all. However, they do have a route set up to cover what are known as arterial and collector roads.
“Stuff like on the south side of town, Blacks Bluff,” he said. “We will go down towards Cave Spring and hit Padlock Mountain, Lyons Bridge, and Booger Hollow. On the north end we will hit Old Dalton, and maybe get out to Big Texas Valley, and Calhoun Road—those that get the most traffic. Then we will get some areas that usually have significant issues like Mt. Alto and Ward Mountain. So, we will try to hit some of those as well.”
Skeen said that the brine can be effective up to 24 hours ahead of time, even in rain, so they could begin treating the roads as early as Thursday, if needed.
If there is a major snowfall, Skeen said that the snow plows usually do not go out until the precipitation stops falling.
“It is just crazy to go over a road and two hours later it has three inches of snow on it again,” Skeen explained. “So, we would typically wait until it ended to start what we call a plow, although it’s not a traditional plow. We run motor graders and if it is ‘just snow’ event we have some contractors around town that we would send out to different parts of the county, and get our out to knock off as much as possible. What you don’t want is for the snow to refreeze. Then you’ve got a mess.”
Skeen added that the main focus would be on bridges, hills and curves, hitting the worst areas and covering as many roads as possible.