Brought to you by WBIW News and Network Indiana
Last updated on Sunday, January 11, 2015
(UNDATED) - Sunday’s storm system is complex, with a delicate dance of temperature fluctuations coupled with the potential for ice, snow, rain, and sleet.
It's enough to cause the National Weather Service to issue an Ice Storm Warning for the first time in a few years.
Road crews across the state have been activated to treat the roads before, during, and after the storm.
INDOT - the state's largest force - started brining the roads Saturday, focusing their efforts on bridges, over passes, and shoulders.
Sunday morning, INDOT said all of its crews had been activated to hit the roads again Sunday afternoon and will work as needed, depending on conditions in each geographic area of the state.
The Indy Snow Force, run by the Indianapolis Department of Public Works, is also battling mother nature.
"Because we are in that range where we are close to freezing we really have to watch where are temperatures are at very closely because if we put salt down and we get rain versus freezing rain that material will wash right off of the roadways and won't have an effect," Scott Manning with DPW.
90 Indy Snow Force crews hit the roads at 11 Sunday morning for a 12 hour shift, when another set of drivers take over at 11pm.
"The goal with that is to keep ice and sleet from building up and accumulating on the roadway services by putting salt down before the storm and as the storm continues," Manning said.
DPW has more than 14,000 tons of salt on hand; crews used about 6,000 tons for last week's storm. The salt is specially treated to handle better in icy conditions.
"The nice thing is, we have had a couple of days to kind of do some catch-up work and allow our cruise to rest and allow us to do some extra maintenance on the trucks to make sure that they are ready to go for the next system," Manning said.
Leaders continue monitoring the storm and its path so they can plan accordingly.
That's something they'll continue to do for the all-important Monday morning rush hour.
In the meantime, they encourage everyone to stay in Sunday afternoon and evening to stay safe and to allow road crews to tackle the roads.
"We really encourage folks that if you don't have to be out on the roads, if you can stay in, try to do that," Manning said.
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