Road Crews Prepare To Tackle Icy Weather Conditions

Road crews all around Green Country are getting ready for the bad weather. City leaders said you can plow sleet and snow but it's freezing rain that's tough to tackle.

"It creates a whole different monster when we're dealing with ice," said Tim McCorkell, City of Tulsa.

Tim McCorkell with the City of Tulsa said salt struggles to melt ice when temperatures linger below freezing.

"If we get a real build up on trees and such like that, then we'll have branches break and that could fall in the roadways, powerlines that may go down," said McCorkell.

Each district in Tulsa County will prioritize pre-treating busy roads and bridges. County leaders said salt brine helps keep ice from sticking to roads and is typically used before temps dip below freezing.

They said sand can be used to help with tire traction. Crews in Tulsa County, Tulsa and Sapulpa are ready to work 12-hour shifts.

"Don't encroach them. I mean stay back behind them. If you don't have to go out, please don't go out," said McCorkell.

Tulsa's brine truck crews come in around midnight to begin treating bridges, hills and overpasses with brine solution.

"A lot of the time it's supposed to be in the 20s, so it will activate and help melt, and once the sun breaks, I mean it'll clear off pretty quick," said McCorkell.

Tulsa has roughly 55 trucks running and 8,500 tons of salt. The city of Sapulpa has three plows, three trucks with salt spreaders and about 500 tons of salt to treat city streets, bridges, and areas with essential workers.

"O-DOT is responsible for the main highways that run through town which is the majority of 4 lane highways through the City of Sapulpa," said Steve Hardt, City of Sapulpa.

Experts said to keep your faucets lightly dripping and turn your sprinkler systems on manual to prevent excess water rolling onto the roadway, creating ice.