Watch CBS News

PennDOT Says More Than 400 Trucks Will Hit The Highways Wednesday To Battle ANOTHER Winter Storm

By Mark Abrams

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- PennDOT crews have their plow blades prepared and are getting ready to load the trucks with road salt to handle the impending storm.

PennDOT's Gene Blaum says they're planning a full callout of crews and contractors to battle the storm.

He says more than 400 trucks will hit the highways Wednesday evening and once the storm begins, the first stage of attack will be spreading salt.

"Get the salt down, try to keep everything moist at the road level and then as the snow continues to fall try to keep it loose as we begin the plowing operations once we have about an inch and a half to two inches of snow fallen on the ground," Blaum said.

But Blaum says he expects it won't be long before crews switch to a plowing operation.

"If it's falling an inch, to possibly two inches an hour, at its height, we'll cut back a little bit on the salt use because the salt's just going to be covered in snow," he said.

Blaum says PennDOT already has gone through 120,000 tons of salt this winter, but has plenty on hand and tons in reserve if needed for the rest of the season.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.