Low temperatures leave blanket of ice on hundreds of roads
LOWNDES COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – Snow and a lot of ice are impacting our viewing area.
While law enforcement was advising people to stay home, there were still plenty of drivers out and about.
“This is probably the worst icing we’ve had in about three or four years now,” said Mike Aldridge, the Lowndes County Road Manager.
As low temperatures mix with sleet and freezing rain, blankets of ice cover hundreds of roads.
It did not stop people from driving early Tuesday morning during WCBI Sunrise.
Aldridge said the roads did not improve after the sun came up.
“They are treacherous right now. They are very slick. The traffic that is on them is breaking it up a little bit but the trouble is it’s so cold it just keeps freezing right back over,” Aldridge said.
Aldridge and his crew salted bridges Monday to be proactive with the winter weather. The team went back out on the roads to give them a second coat.
“Once the bridges get a little wet when you got the storms coming in the salt will stay a little better it helps treat the below level and then you got the top level on it and then we come back and try to treat it to help it dissolve some of the tops to turn it into slush instead of having the froze precipitation on it,” Aldridge said.
Aldridge said when it comes to salting, they try to target the areas with the worst freeze.
“The question is why do we do the bridges instead of the roads well we can’t do all the roads and the bridges seem to freeze the hardest and get the worst so that’s why we try to concentrate on so when the road starts drying out the bridges will be able to ride on to,” Aldridge said.
If you do have to get out, download the MDOT Traffick app as a helpful tool. It shows what counties are reporting icy roadways.
While many county roads have been treated, Aldridge said they may be more dangerous because there is less traffic on those to break up any of the ice.
