Some state road crews are getting a breather after the double whammy of storms that kept them busy most of last week. D-O-T Winter Operations director, Craig Bargfrede, says things are looking better on state highways.
“Overall we’ve made some pretty significant progress and getting road conditions across the state back to near normal winter seasonal driving condition,” he says. Eastern Iowa saw record snows and that’s where the most work remains. “We still got a pretty significant area over in the Cedar Rapids, Iowa City over towards the Davenport area that we’re still dealing with issues as a result of the two storms that we had last week,” Bargfrede says.
The sub-zero temperatures take away some of the chemical weapons the DOT uses to clear the roadways. “The regular salt, pre-wet salt and salt brine are just absolutely not as effective. So we have to shift to a different type of material. Typically, we shift to a 50-50 salt-sand mixture so that we can get material out there and it’s able to act and create some friction for the for the vehicles out there that are traveling,” Bargfrede says.
Bargfrede says the salt-sand mixture makes traction better, but it won’t melt hard-packed snow off the roadway. “That’s about all we can do right now. We’re just gonna have to fight through this for this week until we can get into next week when we’re hoping to see temperatures get up, back up to the freezing point where we’re able to get out there and break that packed snow and break that bond and get that plowed off,” he says.
The subzero cold also takes it’s toll on the equipment. “Especially trucks freezing up on us during this weather,” Bargfrede says. “And so it’s tough when you have to pull the truck off, pull it back into the garage and let it warm up with all the different issues that we’ve got going on.” The double storm tested the limits of the drivers as well. “Crews are tired. This has been over a week slog through this. So crews have been on 12 hour shifts 12 hours on 12 hours off here for over a week,” Bargfrede says. The DOT’s 511 Road Conditions map shows many highways are now marked green for “normal winter driving conditions.”
Bargfrede says it’s still important for drivers to adjust their speed and be alert for changes on the roadway. “When you see the green yes, that means it’s winter seasonal conditions but that means you could also run into areas that could be slippery, you could see some isolated slick spots and patches of ice,” he says. Bargfrede says the subzero temperatures add to the danger if you hit a patch of ice and go into the ditch. He says keep a survival kit in your car, your cell phone is fully charged, and keep the gas tank full if you have to head out.