By Katie Northcott, News Director
On Sunday, Jan. 25, the Tennessee Department of Transportation published a press release asking motorists to avoid all non-essential travel.
The full press release is copied below.
The Tennessee Department of Transportation (TDOT) continues to strongly urge motorists to stay home. TDOT crews are on their fourth day of clearing roads and are now removing downed trees. Due to the prolonged weather event, with ice and dangerously low temperatures being experienced across the state, conditions will remain hazardous for at least the next 24 to 48 hours.
TDOT’s Statewide Response by the Numbers to Date:
- 10,000 Equipment Hours
- 15,000 Labor Hours
- 3,500 Tons of Salt
- 1.4 Million Gallons of Brine
- 290,000+ Miles of Road Treated
- 861 Incidents Managed
With many waking up to ice and power outages, TDOT crews are doing their part by clearing downed trees from roadways and continuing their regular plowing and salting operations. The combination of snow, ice, and bitterly cold temperatures makes for an evolving response from TDOT. Here’s a closer look at the array of tools we can use to provide a targeted, multi-layered response based on weather conditions.
- When snow falls, we plow to keep the roads clear. We also spread salt to lower the freezing temperature of water and prevent ice on the roadways. However, because the forecast calls for colder temperatures, the salt won’t be strong enough if roadway temperatures fall below 16 degrees.
- We can add calcium chloride to further lower the freezing temperature of water.
- If ice is present, we may also place down “hot brine,” which is a mixture of brine and calcium chloride.
- A dump truck with an underbody scraper follows behind, spreading hot brine and breaking up the ice.
- A plow follows last, clearing the ice from the roadway.
Please avoid all non-essential travel due to the rapidly deteriorating road conditions. TDOT crews will continue working to keep primary routes, mainly interstates, clear. We will also target areas vulnerable to freezing, such as hills, curves, ramps, bridges, and interchanges. Keep in mind, even with continuous treatment, roads will remain hazardous until temperatures rise.
Drivers are urged to stay off the roads to allow crews to work safely and efficiently. If travel is unavoidable, motorists should reduce speed, increase following distance, and prepare for sudden patches of ice, as well as the possibility of downed trees and power lines.
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