Road Crews Staying Busy Preparing For Freezing Rain And Snow Coming To Pittsburgh Area
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- Road crews across the area are busy prepping for the upcoming storm slated to bring rain, ice and snow to the Pittsburgh area.
Bethel Park Municipal Manager Laurence Christian told KDKA's Meghan Schiller that the Public Works Department needs to clear 130 miles of roadway, and that's just one way.
Christian's urging everyone to stay off the roads, and Bethel Park Police Chief Timothy O'Connor is asking the same thing. He said if you're driving and you find yourself sliding on ice, the outcome comes down to "road conditions, your car and the Lord."
Inside the Bethel Park Public Works building on Wednesday, crews were busy fueling the snow trucks and pre-staging the equipment.
"We've been busy preparing all the trucks," said Christian. "We got 16 eight-ton plow trucks that crisscross the municipality over 130 miles, and they've been busy preparing, getting salt in there, getting the plows on, the chains, getting ready for a multi-day weather event."
Christian said crews usually work 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., but they're going to start at 10 a.m. Thursday and expect a later workday.
The department's prepped with thousands of pounds of salt and sand. A total of 18 people will be on standby, ready to deploy once the rain stops.
Christian is also asking homeowners to do these things:
Christian said this storm is going to pack a double-punch of ice and snow and will not offer road crews the luxury of pre-treating the roadways. That's why he said it's so important for people to stay off the roads Thursday night unless it's necessary.