Kentucky Department of Highways salt truck and plow crews are out in force across northeast Kentucky tonight treating roads as freezing rain and snow move across the region.
As of 9 p.m., crews report a rain or freezing rain mix in Bath, Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Greenup, Lewis, Mason, Nicholas, and Rowan counties, with a rain and snow mix along more northern Ohio River counties. Icy conditions are reported at bridges, cold spots, and higher elevations. It’s expected that freezing rain and ice will be falling in all counties – and affecting all roads – by midnight.
Highway crews will remain out on roads overnight and throughout Thursday treating them with salt and plowing ice or snow as needed.
With precipitation expected to continue all night, and because ice is more difficult to remove from pavement, roadways won’t be clear by Thursday morning. Motorists are strongly advised to avoid any unnecessary travel.
Staying off roads will also reduce the numbers of vehicles in ditches and other incidents that can impede snow removal efforts.
During winter storms, Kentucky Department of Highways snow plow crews work 12-hour shifts to keep highways passable using a priority route system based on traffic volume and connectivity to hospitals and other critical services. Crews focus first on high-priority routes such as interstates and critical roadways, then heavily traveled state routes before turning to lower-volume routes.
(provided by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, District 9)
