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Shelby
-Brining
operations started today across northwestern North Carolina as N.C. Department of Transportation crews
prepare roads for the possibility of heavy snow and ice accumulation in the
coming days.
NCDOT crews will pre-treat
most bare pavement routes with salt brine in Division 11, which includes
Alleghany, Ashe, Avery, Caldwell, Surry, Watauga, Wilkes and Yadkin counties.
Bare pavement routes areinterstates,four-lane divided primary
routes, and other primary and secondary routes.
The division's mountain
counties (Alleghany, Ashe, Avery and Watauga) will be putting out brine in
locations that don't have residual salt from recent snow removal
operations.
The National Weather
Service has issued a hazardous weather outlook and a winter storm watch for
parts of Division 11, with some of the region expecting several inches of snow.
NCDOT crews are prepared to switch from anti-icing operations to snow and ice
removal when needed. Equipment and supplies are ready and stocked.
NCDOT offers the following
safety tips for driving in winter weather:
- Clear
windows and mirrors;
- Reduce
speed and leave plenty of room between you and other vehicles;
- Approach
bridges and overpasses them with extreme caution and do not apply your
brakes while on a bridge unless necessary;
- If
you begin to slide, take your foot off the gas and turn the steering
wheel in the direction of the slide. Do not apply the brakes as that
will cause further loss of control of the car;
- Come
to a complete stop or yield the right of way when approaching an
intersection in case any vehicles coming from other directions lose control
of their vehicles while trying to stop.
- If
you have a cellular phone, take it with you. You can contact the Highway
Patrol statewide by calling *HP (*47) or call law enforcement by dialing
911. But please don't call 911 to check on road conditions. That line
must be kept open for emergencies.
For real-time travel
information at any time, call 511, visit www.ncdot.gov/travel
or follow NCDOT on Twitter at www.ncdot.gov/travel/twitter.
Another option is NCDOT Mobile, a phone-friendly version of the NCDOT
website. To access it, type "m.ncdot.gov"
into the browser of your smartphone and bookmark it to save for future use.
You can also get emergency
information from the N.C. Department of Public Safety at http://readync.org, and download the ReadyNC
app to help you prepare for everything from road conditions to severe storms
on a daily basis. It is available for free in the AppStore for iPhones and
Google Play for Android devices.
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