As we anticipate the chance of a midweek wintry mix, the Texas Department of Transportation prepares to treat our roads over the next few days.
The work to treat roads has already begun in most parts of North Texas along major highways and interstates. Tony Hartzel, spokesman for the Texas Department of Transportation, said it’s critical they get it just right.
“We tested all of our equipment back in early fall just to make sure we had it all calibrated correctly,” Hartzel said. “The brine that we put down is at a very specific rate given the speed rate our tricks drive. And it’s a very specific percentage of salt.”
Hartzel helps manage the TxDOT region responsible for several counties including Dallas, Collin, Denton, and Rockwall. Within that region alone, they can deploy upwards of 200 pieces of equipment.
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A large portion of TxDOT trucks seen out treating roads come from the Cedar Hill hub. He said crews are now in what’s called 'emergency operations' mode. This means they’ll rotate twelve-hour shifts around the clock.
“That’s dump trucks that we can spread sand and salt,” he said. “Pickup trucks that have spreader boxes in them, our pickup trucks, and plows as well.”
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Timing is important. If crews treat the roads too early or too late, it’s not as effective. Once they start, Hartzel said it takes about 48 hours to complete the job.
Crews will treat overpasses as a priority, and Hartzel reminds us many roads fall under city management.
“The roads coming out of your neighborhood are generally going to be the city streets and so that’s one thing to keep in mind that there are a lot of city streets, depending on the resources for the city depends on what they can do,” he said.
Hartzel said crews in his seven-county region started treating roads Monday morning. By nightfall, they'd made significant progress.
"Denton, Collin, Kaufman, Rockwall, Ellis and Navarro have all been treated. For the most part, we're done with those," he said. We’re about halfway done with all of the work in Dallas county. We've a lot of highways and a lot of miles to treat in Dallas County and we're working hard."
Hartzel said his region is made up of some 900 employees. Roughly half will work rotating shifts throughout the duration of the winter weather event.
TxDOT strongly advises you stay off the roads during this time.
Information on road conditions in the state is available at DriveTexas™ or by phone at (800) 452-9292.
