DOT prepared for winter’s worst

CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Here’s something to be thankful for this holiday. The West Virginia Department of Transportation is ready for the winter storm headed our way.

“We’ve got everybody on alert. We’ve got our supervisors in the counties keeping their finger on the pulse and getting ready to make that decision when to send our county crews out,” according to DOT spokesperson Brent Walker.

In some of the higher elevations, the DOT has already sent out spreaders with brine to treat the roads ahead of the snow. In other regions, they’ll pre-positioning trucks ahead of the storm to be ready to move at a moment’s notice.

Walker said the DOT has been in contact with every Division of Highways district office talking about the game plan. With 3-5 inches expected in the lowlands and up to a foot in the upper elevations, this is going to be a major storm for the state.

Even though the bulk of the snow is set to fall on what is traditionally the busiest travel day of the year, the day before Thanksgiving, Walker said the DOT is treating this storm just like any other.

“We’re certainly cognizant of the fact that it’s the holiday travel season. But this is what we do,” stressed Walker. “We get out there when there’s a winter storm. We treat roads and plow roads and make roads as safe as they can be.”

The DOT is ready. The questions is are you? If you were to get stuck in a snowbank, break down or have a fender bender during a snowstorm, there are certain items you need to have in your car.

“Do you have a blanket? Do you have a flashlight? Do you have some water?” Walker said those are all important items in an emergency kit.

Once the snow does start to accumulate it’s important to give the plows and spreaders plenty of room to do their job. And your best bet out there on the road, according to Walker, “Let’s slow it down and get to where we need to safely.”

If you have questions about road conditions, you can get detailed information at www.wv511.org or you can dial 511 from your phone.





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