Oklahoma City prepares roads for wintry mix overnight into Wednesday

As winter weather moves into Oklahoma City, the city’s street crews are already taking action to prevent hazardous road conditions. With a forecast of mainly ice and sleet, the city is preparing for slippery streets, particularly on bridges and overpasses, which freeze first. To ensure the safety of drivers, city crews are out today pretreating these critical areas.

City Crews Begin Pretreating Bridges and Overpasses Ahead of Storm

Crews started treating bridges and overpasses on Tuesday with a brine solution, a 23% saltwater mix. This solution is sprayed onto the roadways to dry before the sleet or snow arrives. Once the frozen precipitation falls, the brine mixture will activate to help prevent refreezing and make the roads safer for drivers.

Salt Trucks Ready as Oklahoma City Faces Ice and Sleet Storm

The city has more than 30 salt trucks to follow the pretreatment with salt. These trucks will begin spreading salt on the city’s designated snow routes to reduce the risk of icy conditions. The goal is to have the streets prepared for the morning commute.

“If you're going to have to be out in this, tomorrow morning particularly, just allow yourself plenty of time and lots of distance between you and the vehicle, and if you see our trucks out there out there on the road, please allow them the space to operate and get the salt down and try to help out,” said OKC Street Supervisor Chris Daniels.

City Implements 12-Hour Shifts to Treat Roads During Winter Storm

To keep up with the snow and sleet as it falls, the city is implementing 12-hour shifts for street crews. These shifts will begin at midnight tonight and continue until the roads are safe. Crews will focus on treating and salting roads throughout the night and into the morning hours to ensure they remain safe for commuters.

OKC Street Supervisor Chris Daniels Offers Winter Driving Tips

In addition to the work crews are doing to treat the roads, Daniels says during winter storms, always assume the roads are slick.

“The assumption should be if you see a shine a glaze on it, to assume that it's icy and go from there,” Daniels said. “When we have this type of weather coming in, if it looks wet, I would assume that it's ice.”