NDOT Ready for Snow and Ice, But Uncertain Where Crews will be Needed Most

COLUMBUS - The Nebraska Department or Transportation is geared up in anticipation of a snow storm that could hit a large portion of the state on Wednesday and Thursday. NDOT Communications Staffer Jeni Campana says they will need to time out when to apply treatment to the roads, in order for it to be most effective. 'We use a combination of different materials that we put on the road, and we look at what the road conditions are and what the temperatures are going to be. So that varies, but we are very specific in what we do and when we want to apply it. If you apply treatment to early, then it'll just wash of the road with the anticipated rain that's coming in," says Campana. Campana says they have a plethora of resources and technology to help them determine when to best being treating roads, and says their is one main difference in this storm, compared to others that have come through this winter. "The difference is the storm is really large, and the track is really unknown, so we don't know where the snowfall is going to hit," says Campana. Campana says the timing of this storm will resort in a lot of night time work hours for NDOT crew members. "So especially in the Columbus area and the Norfolk area, those types of places. Folks will be up through the night checking the roads. Making sure people are out getting the roads treated and getting ready to plow snow, depending on how much we have," says Campana. Campana says motorists will need to be extremely cautious when determine when, where, and if they should be traveling on Thursday. "When the sun does come up, and it's snowing, they really need to be paying attention to the weather. They need to look outside and really make a decision on what they want to do, and what kind of visibility is out there. With this blowing snow, visibility could be very low, and that's going to drop temperatures a lot faster, so people should really take caution," says Campana. Check the latest status on Nebraska Highway conditions by clicking here, or check back with NCN for updates.