Ky. road crews attach plows, load salt ahead of winter storm

Kentucky Transportation Cabinet prepares for winter weather heading our way

LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – Kentucky Transportation Cabinet crews spent Monday getting trucks and equipment ready for the winter storm expected to hit the Bluegrass region Monday night.

Teams attached new plow blades and loaded trucks with salt as part of their preparations. KYTC spokesperson Allen Blair said staff and contractors are set to work 12-hour shifts to clear roads once snow and ice move in.

Blair explained that during winter months, KYTC keeps personnel on call in every county to monitor forecasts and deploy crews as needed. In Fayette County alone, about 30 employees and contractors will be on the roads at the same time. Statewide, that number can reach as high as 1,500.

“These professional plow drivers, they’ve been through this before, they know exactly what techniques work out there on the highway, and they’ll salt, treat, and plow and whatever is needed to clear a path through that icy precipitation,” Blair said.

He cautioned that roads won’t be completely clear even with roughly 30 plow trucks running routes in Fayette County. Snow can continue to accumulate behind plows until the storm moves out.

While snow is the major threat in this system, freezing rain poses a challenge because it washes away brine, limiting KYTC’s ability to pre-treat roads. Blair said crews are reducing pre-treatment in Fayette County, where a wintry mix is expected ahead of the snow.

“As soon as that snow falls, we’ll be able to mix that salt with the moisture on the road and keep it from freezing,” Blair said.

Blair also shared safety tips for traveling in snow and ice: leave early, increase following distance, and slow down on curves, bridges, and overpasses.

“Curves and valleys, shaded areas, places on bridges, those can be slicker than other spots,” he said.

The first snowfall of the season three weeks ago contributed to more than 70 crashes in Lexington. Blair noted that each storm helps crews learn more about how to treat roads effectively.