COLLINSVILLE, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Transportation said the unpredictable wintry weather is nothing new but combined with a holiday weekend, it could be a recipe for disaster.
“It will be a race on how well the pavements will drain relative to how cold it gets,” IDOT District 8 Engineer Joe Monroe said.
Monroe said a flash freeze could be a very dangerous situation.
“That's the type of thing where you would be driving along one minute, then all of a sudden it snaps,” Monroe said
He said they probably won’t be able to pre-treat the roads if the storm continues in that direction and we get more rain to start.
“That would be one time where I would actually advise people to sit tight for a while and let us get two rounds in. A round for us is normally 2 to 3 hours. So if we can get trucks through the area twice after something flash freezes, normally it's much more safe to drive after that,” Monroe said.
He said they’ve prepared all of their equipment and have plenty of salt and brine for whatever this winter storm brings, but staffing is still an issue even though its improved a little.
“It's just been very difficult to get the numbers that we need. So again, that kind of feeds into how quickly we can make rounds,” Monroe said.
It’s also a good time to prepare your own vehicle and check your oil, your windshield washer fluid and, most importantly, your battery.
“One of the things you can do is if your battery is three years old or so, go have it tested. That way you can replace it preemptively rather than have it die on you when you're out,” AAA spokesperson Nick Chabaria said.
The Missouri Department of Transportation said it is still working on its plan for this storm and plans to release details later this week.
In November, when 5 On Your Side last checked in with MoDOT, the department was still dealing with significant staffing shortages.