SAN ANTONIO – Trucks with TxDOT have been hitting the streets ahead of the winter weather this week.
The San Antonio district covers 12 area counties including Bexar, Comal, Guadalupe and Kendall counties.
Their crews have been pretreating overpasses and bridges for days and keeping an eye on the conditions along our major highways.
Trucks have been using brine, a de-icing agent, on highways.
“Brine is just an application that we put on the roadway to avoid the bonding of the freezing rain onto the pavement for easy removal,” said Tanya brown, TxDOT Public Information Officer. “You’ll see kind of a white dust on there and that’s going to be the brine.”
Trucks are mostly spending their time on structures, meaning elevated bridges and overpasses.
“Those are elevated surfaces, and wind typically will travel through and underneath those, and could make any precipitation that falls freezing,” said Brown.
The weather may have more of an impact north of Bexar County headed toward Guadalupe, Comal, Kendall and Kerr counties.
“We’re brine-ing all of our major corridors so that we can keep those roadways open. It’s imperative that we keep those open for goods, 18-wheelers and to continue to travel,” said Brown.
Brown said driver safety is imperative this week. Brown said stay inside your vehicle if you are struck or stranded.
“You’re safer inside the vehicle than out. Keep your seatbelts on inside the vehicle just in case somebody wants to strike you from behind. Make sure that you turn on your flashers if it’s at night,” said Brown. “If you are going to be traveling in weather like this, have a full tank of gas, make sure your phones are charged and that you take necessities such as medications, blankets and snacks.”
Brown said the new flyover on the far NW Side at Loop 1604 and I-10 that recently opened was also pre-treated.
“All the structures have been pretreated already, but if you’re traveling, if that’s a route that you don’t need to take or you can take a different route, then we always highly suggest that,” said Brown.
Brown said TxDOT does not close highways or overpasses for winter weather and it’s a decision made by local authorities.
They are also asking businesses to shut off their sprinkler system because a break in the system can cause dangerous conditions on frontage roads during winter weather.
If drivers have to be on bridges and overpasses, TxDOT recommends saving this number, 210-732-HERO (4376).
It’s the HERO program number and can help provide free roadside assistance for stuck drivers.