“You know we’re kind of fighting a tough battle here just because conditions aren’t favorable to what we typically do.”
Frigid temperatures are working against crews who have been working around the clock, says Alex Doty, Communications Administrator for the Ottawa County Road Commission. It’s too cold for the usual de-icing options to work.
“So it’s just a lot of scraping and putting down sand and other traction materials at stops as opposed to being able to melt it off completely.”
Night crews focus on high-volume highways and state roads, and the day shift came in early once again to work on county roads.
“Hopefully getting them into a position where its somewhat drivable for folks through the day, even though conditions look like they’re going to be pretty iffy through the day.”
Steve Roon (Roan) is the Director of Maintenance and Local Road Construction for the Kent County Road Commission.
He reminds drivers the law requires they stay back 200 feet from plows and other maintenance vehicles that need room to maneuver. The extra space also helps to keep from being blinded by blowing snow.
“With this light snow the car in front of you really will whip up a lot of that snow so we’re getting whiteout conditions from not only blowing snow, but the cars produce it.”
Roon adds with multiple emergencies happening at once, it may take first responders a while to get to stranded motorists so be prepared to wait by keeping warm clothes, blankets, snacks and water in the vehicle.
