“That stuff is coming out of the spreader and while it is supposed to drop straight down onto the road, it can out with velocity and can bounce. You can end up scratching your car and being peppered with it,” Pifer said. “If you can stay back away from it, where it is not doing that, that’s a good rule of thumb.” The safest option when winter weather is here is to stay home, Murphy said. He also suggested turning on headlights and taillights no matter the time of day. “If you are going to be out traveling, be prepared,” Murphy said. “Leave the house 15 to 20 minutes early, make sure you have snow tires and slow down and drive accordingly.” All roads maintained by the WVDOH fit into one of four priorities. The Interstate, Expressway, National Highway System, and all other United States and West Virginia routes are Priority 1 routes in an SRIC strategy. Some Priority 1 routes also include high-traffic county routes. Priority 2 routes are all other school bus routes that are not considered Priority 1. Priority 3 routes are the remaining routes, not including park and forest routes. Priority 4 routes are park and forest routes.
Over the past two winter seasons, WVDOT crews have used an average of 250,000 tons of salt and 1.3 million gallons of de-icing liquid. For the latest updates and information on travel conditions throughout West Virginia, visit wv.511.org. |
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