ST. LOUIS — A winter weather advisory is in effect for a good portion of the area, including the metro St. Louis area, overnight into midday Wednesday. The biggest impacts will likely occur during the morning rush hour Wednesday.
That’s the biggest concern for MoDOT.
The Missouri Department of Transportation announced its plans Tuesday for how it will handle another round of winter weather, including the likelihood of snow.
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MoDOT crews will start hitting the roads at midnight. About 200 trucks will be ready to roll. The biggest concern, according to MoDOT’s Bob Becker, is that the storm could be most intense from 3 a.m. – 7 a.m., just in time to make a mess of the Wednesday morning rush.
“The worst thing we can do is not be out there and be prepared ahead of it, so we are going to be out there ahead of it,” Becker said.
The biggest unknown is when the temperatures will drop below freezing. In the metro St. Louis area, that is expected to happen by daybreak. And between now and then, rain is expected in the area ahead of the snow. That makes timing when to treat the roads even trickier.
“If we have treatment down, it’ll allow it to melt a little quicker than normal. If you just do it when it’s raining, it’ll wash that treatment off before it has anything to melt,” Becker explained.
Drivers are advised to slow down, give themselves extra time to get where they're going and keep extra distance between other drivers.
MoDOT said it will use a treated salt to help keep the roads from getting icy or slick. They use about 100 – 200 pounds per lane mile, Becker said.
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