12/11/2009

County prepares roads, equips crews for snow, freezing rain

Contact

Jeff Mize, Public Works Phone: (360) 397-6118 ext. 4398

Vancouver, WA – Clark County Public Works started pretreating roads, concentrating on curves, hills, intersections and overpasses, at 9 a.m. Friday in expectation of snow or freezing rain, forecast to arrive late Friday night or early Saturday morning.

Four trucks began spraying a salt brine deicer as a way to reduce snow and ice accumulation on county roads. The county waited until 9 a.m. because the chemical deicer works better when the temperature is above 20 degrees.

In addition, the county has 40 trucks prepped with plows, chains and gravel, if needed for additional traction. The gravel was swept up during chip sealing, a road preservation method, and is being recycled as a way to promote conservation and efficient use of resources.

As of Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service was predicting a slight chance of snow tonight, with greater likelihood of accumulation beginning at 2 to 4 a.m. Saturday. Snow is expected to give way to a wintry mix of sleet and freezing rain during the day, followed by warmer temperatures and rain on Sunday.

“We are prepared for the storm expected to roll into our area,” said Greg Shafer, public works operations manager. “Although this storm probably won’t pack the same wallop as the one we experienced in December 2008, our crews and trucks are geared up and ready to provide whatever level of response is needed.”

For more information on the county’s winter weather plans, go to: www.clark.wa.gov/public-works/engineering/winter.html. The Web site offers answers to common questions about snow and ice removal, snowplows and deicers, as well as a snow route map indicating which roads receive priority during winter storms.

The site provides a place for county residents to get the latest news about road conditions, garbage collection delays and other information, along with Web links for monitoring travel conditions in other parts of the Northwest.

You can also use the Web site to sign up to receive news alerts from the county about road closures and other developments during winter storms.

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