PITT COUNTY, N.C. (WITN) - For the third week in a row, North Carolina Department of Transportation maintenance crews are loading up their trucks and preparing roadways for winter weather.
Thousands of gallons of brine have been sprayed on Eastern Carolina roadways ahead of the weekend. Due to using so much salt, the Pitt County branch of the DOT has had to order more. Still, the department is fully stocked and ready for the incoming weather. “We’ve got some trucks that hold 1,600 gallons all the way up to some that hold 5,000 gallons,” Jordan Davenport, Pitt County maintenance engineer said. The trucks can apply the brine at a rate of 40 gallons per lane, per mile. The agency is treating roads as a precaution for freezing temperatures and forecasted snowfall, but before the snow, ENC residents should see rain. The rainfall could threaten their work. “It’s kind of a cheap insurance, if you will, that even if some of it washes away, some of it will stay and bond to the pavement and prevent ice from forming there,” Jamie Kritzer of the Raleigh DOT branch said. The brine is good for the roadways because it reduces the possibility of ice formation. But it isn’t good for cars. “We’ve seen a lot of dirty cars,” Eric Bailey with A Perfect Shine Everytime car wash said. “We have to rinse them down really good, twice, before we wash them.” Bailey and his team of car washers use a special wax cleanser to keep the salt from rusting the exterior metal. “We called the truck two weeks ago to get some more,” Bailey said. “It’s getting challenging, but it’s our job. We’ve go to do what we’ve got to do.” When it comes to slick roadways, it’s better to be safe than sorry. “If you get a heavy rain after you treat, it can wash away some of your material, but if it’s just a light rain and for not a very long duration, it can still be effective,” Davenport said. “A lot of times we feel like we need to treat and that way we are as prepared as we can be leading into the event.” For another weekend, folks are encouraged to stay inside, far from behind the wheel.
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