TxDOT Gearing Up For Winter Weather, Laying Brine Before Possible Wintry Mix Falls
NORTH TEXAS (CBSDFW.COM) - It feels like springtime today, but there's a chance a wintry mix could fall in parts of North Texas on Tuesday and that has some road crews getting a jump start.
On Monday, expect to see Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) crews pre-treating roads across the Metroplex with brine. The mixture lowers the freezing point of water and prevents roadways from freezing over.
From the control center at TxDOT Dallas District headquarters, workers will monitor the feed from traffic cameras to locate any trouble spots. Their main focus will be bridges and overpasses.
While ice or snow will not be a possibility until Tuesday morning, maintenance crews are already moving.
TxDOT is laying brine on elevated structures in Dallas, Denton, and Collin Counties ahead of the near freezing temperatures and rainfall. The Fort Worth district will also be pre-treating roads on Monday.
At this early stage, the steps are being taken out of an abundance of caution. TxDOT public information officer Emily McCann says this is the first time this season they've had to pre-treat roads because of a wintry forecast.
But McCann says crew are ready. "TxDOT has calibrated all our equipment, we've assessed our brine stockpiles, to make sure we were all good there and then all of our equipment is inspected."
As it stands, the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA) has no plans to pre-treat roads today, but will be on standby in case residual precipitation turns to ice overnight Tuesday into Wednesday.
