Tulsa City Crews Treating Roads, On Standby for Weather

Tulsa city workers are keeping an eye on roads during winter weather Wednesday.

City crews treated the roads with salt. City of Tulsa Street Maintenance Manager Tim McCorkell says with all the moisture coming down, the salt will work better than a brine mixture. He emphasizes bridges could get dangerous with below freezing temperatures.

"A bridge can freeze up at any time,” McCorkell said. “You may be driving on just a wet road and when you go to cross that bridge, it may be ice. Keep your distance, slow down. And especially when the trucks are out there, give the people the room to work because they can help make it a safe drive for you."

The city uses a sensor system to keep an eye on conditions. Some of the sensors are out on the roads, others are inside city vehicles. The sensors track information like air and ground temperatures. McCorkell said that's how they know when to start treating the roads. 

"We also have the ability to watch some of the sensors west that ODOT has so we can anticipate when it's gonna drop, so we can get some people out ahead of time to address the situation,” McCorkell said.

The city has drivers on standby until midnight, and if needed, they'll bring in another shift to get ready for the morning rush hour.