ODOT Prepares For Incoming Winter Storm

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is gearing up for the snow. ODOT has been loading up trucks with salt to spread out over the highways as the snowstorm arrives.

Tuesday, January 24th 2023, 6:41 am

By: Jonathan Polasek

TULSA, Okla. -

The Oklahoma Department of Transportation is gearing up for the snow. ODOT has been loading up trucks with salt to spread out over the highways as the snowstorm arrives.

Winter weather preparations started on Monday and ODOT is ready to start covering the roads with the salt mixture.

ODOT has 25 trucks at its disposal for the Tulsa area which are loaded with the salt and sand mixture as well as having plows ready to go as soon as the snow starts to fall. However, ODOT isn't looking at pre-treating the roads ahead of this storm because it anticipates the snow being a little wetter and easily plowed off the roads.

"We probably won't do much pre-treating again since it's going to mostly be wet snow. They should just plow pretty easily right off the highways and get everything cleared as quick as we can," TJ Gerlach, ODOT's spokesperson said.

With these trucks out and about over the next couple of days, Gerlach said that it's important to give them enough space to do their work so that they'll be safe and that you'll be safe as well.

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"We ask anybody that sees one of our plows to stay about 200 to 300 feet behind it just to make sure that you’re not getting any of that salt or sand mixture on your car or obscuring visibility. If you do need to pass, give it plenty of room, take it nice and slow and easy. Just give that truck as much room as you can to do the job that it needs to do," Gerlach said.