Road Crews Ready For Back-To-Back Winter Storms
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PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – Two winter storms are eyeing up our region and crews in the Delaware Valley are ready.
Fourteen crews making up about 70 personnel at the Montgomery County maintenance yard are gearing up to make sure the roads are passable and safe.
"My guys have been getting the trucks ready, our mechanics are in the garage repairing all of our trucks that were broken down, so I think we're ready to go," said James Brown, senior highway maintenance manager for Montgomery County.
Brown has a team with access to 44 trucks, which is part of 300 equipment total across five counties.
Chopper 3 captured PennDOT salt brine trucks treating roads along the Highway 30 bypass eastbound in Chester County.
"The salt residue stays on the pavement, so when the snow begins to fall, it helps prevent that immediate bond that the snow has to the asphalt or concrete," said Gene Blaum, executive assistant with PennDOT.
Double Dose Of Winter Weather On The Way
From inside, PennDOT officials will be monitoring the roads from their 400 cameras.
They will activate electronic signs for drivers about current road conditions and accidents prompting lane closures.
PECO has also been busy hiring contractors like Asplundh to cut tree limbs. PECO says fallen limbs can lead to up almost a third of power outages.
"We're looking at the most vulnerable areas, areas where trees have historically been a problem for the equipment, areas where outages are harder to restore because they're on the outskirts," said PECO spokesperson Afia Ohene-Frempong.
As for Brown, he has this message for drivers, "Slow down, let us do our job that we do and everyone will get home safe."
Aside from driving slow, PennDOT says to leave six car lengths between your vehicle and the plow.
Crews will start their 12-hour shift to treat the roads at 7 p.m.
