Raleigh -NCDOT crews in Division 5 are
working on clearing roads of slush and snow and fallen trees in several
counties. The hardest hit areas have been Person County and northern Durham
County.
Crews and trucks from Wake County have gone into Person
County to help clear about three inches of slush on roads and a number of trees
that have fallen across roadways.
In Durham County, fallen trees are the biggest problem and
DOT crews based there are focusing on cutting up and moving them off roads.
Granville County also has tree, snow and slush-covered
roads to address and is being assisted by DOT crews from Vance and Franklin
counties.
Having temperatures stay above freezing is a big help in
road clearing efforts as piles of slush on roadways are easy to clear with snowplows.
DOT crews throughout the Division were on alert overnight for
this latest batch of winter weather, with trucks loaded with salt and sand
ready to hit slippery spots, including 10 in Wake County and 15 in Durham
County.
In the northern counties of Vance and Warren, where the
precipitation was expected to come in as snow and/or frozen rain, crews were
able to put salt brine down on bridges and overpasses Thursday to help lessen
the impact of the bad weather.
In other areas, such as Wake and Durham counties, where forecasts
called for rain initially brining was not an option.
In areas where slush, snow and trees are still on roadways, NCDOT
urges drivers to be very cautious:
- Clear
windows and mirrors of ice before driving;
- Reduce
speed and leave plenty of room between you and other vehicles in case
either vehicle goes into a skid;
- Plan for
significant additional travel time to reach your destination.
- Approach
bridges and overpasses them with extreme caution and do not apply your
brakes while on a bridge or ramp 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 also trying to stop; and
- If you
come across a downed power line, do not attempt to drive over it or move
it. Instead contact law enforcement at 911. But please don't call 911 to
check on road conditions. That line is for emergencies only.
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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