Road Crews Prepare For Winter Storm
DENVER (CBS4)- Road crews with Denver Public Works and the Colorado Department of Transportation are preparing for Saturday's winter storm.
Because the temperatures are expected to be warm when the snow starts falling, crews are not expecting to conduct too much de-icing. They are focusing on plowing and clearing the snow.
Typically traffic is slow during the weekends so crews can clear more roads in a shorter amount of time because they won't be battling a lot of vehicles on the roads.
"Anytime we get a storm during rush hour our plows sit with everyone else so tomorrow it will be easier for us. We expect the snow to accumulate between 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. tomorrow and our plows will be out and on it. Hopefully we'll have the roads clear for you when you run your errands," said Denver Public Works spokeswoman Emily Williams.
Denver Public Works will deploy 70 plows on streets in the Denver metro area.
CDOT will have 300 plows cruising roadways in Colorado. They are anticipating a lot of ski traffic along Interstate 70 while the snow falls.
"They're sitting in the traffic jams and slower traffic as well and so it's harder for them to maintain the roadways," said CDOT spokeswoman Mindy Crane.
CDOT is expecting the storm to hit hard on the Eastern Plains and believe highway closures could be a real possibility.
"We are expecting heavier amounts, seven to 14 inches with blizzard conditions. When we get those high winds and poor visibility that can certainly be a challenge for our crews," said Crane.
