MANSFIELD — The Ohio Department of Transportation will have 20 plows and 32 drivers operating in Richland County if an expected winter storm hits Wednesday night and into Thursday.
But that doesn’t mean motorists should expect clear sailing on state routes, U.S. routes and interstates around the county or state, according to ODOT spokeswoman Crystal Neelon.
“One of the biggest things we are stressing is if we get the large amount of snow expected, it’s going to make it very hard for our crews to keep up,” said Neelon, the public information officer for ODOT District 3, which includes Richland and Ashland counties.
“Please give yourself a lot of extra time if you do have to travel,” Neelon said. “We will be working around the clock, but don’t expect perfect road conditions.”
The forecast from the National Weather Service office in Cleveland, as of Tuesday afternoon, predicts around nine inches of snow Wednesday night and into Thursday. The Weather Channel still predicts as many as 14 inches before the storm is done.
There is a winter storm watch in Richland and Ashland counties from Wednesday through Friday morning.
“If we get the heavy snow predicted, as soon as the plow goes through, the road will again cover up quickly,” Neelon said. “(Drivers) can expect the roads to be covered until the storm passes.”
And just to be clear — ODOT is not responsible for city streets, county roads or highways within the city of Mansfield, i.e. U.S. 30 on the north side.
One thing that will be helpful for all snow plow operators is an understanding public.
“Give our drivers room to work,” Neelon said. “Our trucks drive at a slower speed. Our drivers have a lot of things to pay attention to.”
In addition to the plows, Neelon said ODOT in Richland County has just under 9,000 tons of salt on hand and around 93,000 gallons of brine.
Pre-treatment with brine will not be possible where the storm begins as rain, she said, since the rain would simply wash the brine off the roads.
“(But) we also bring in brine simultaneously as we salt. Salt really doesn’t work until it gets wet and the brine helps to activate it,” she said.
“If it’s snowing one to two inches an hour, coming in really quickly, we may not do as much treating as we are plowing,” she said. “In the event of freezing rain, we will be salting as much as we can.”
It’s an ambitious task since ODOT has 564 lane miles to handle in Richland County, alone. It also has 666 lane miles in Ashland County and the effort will be similar there.
If the storm hits and travel is required, plan ahead by checking out OHGO.com to view hundreds of live traffic cameras, traffic speeds, and be informed of any crashes or incidents.
Visit www.ohgo.com for updated travel conditions from the Ohio Department of Transportation.
