As of 5:00p.m. on Monday, state highway crews in Kentucky Department of Highways District 9 have now spent more than 12 hours in plow trucks clearing roads as a massive winter storm continues to blanket the northeast region.
All roads were reported mostly to completely covered with snow - several inches in some areas - and plow drivers in Bath, Boyd, Carter, Elliott, Fleming, Greenup, Lewis, Mason, Nicholas and Rowan counties remain focused on clearing main Priority A roads as they have since first responding at 4 a.m. today.
In some counties, graders and other trucks have been working back roads so those don't become impassable. Snow totals have been reported between 6 and 10 inches. Air and pavement temperatures are about 15 degrees.
“Our crews are faced with a big challenge – keeping our interstates and other major highways open so that traffic and commerce can keep moving through the state,” Kentucky Transportation Secretary Mike Hancock said.
“We are using all our resources to accomplish that," added Hancock.
All plow crews will remain working on 12-hour shifts, but roads will likely remain snow covered as snow is quickly re-covering pavement between plow passes.
According to the National Weather Service, snow is not expected to stop until after midnight, which means roadway snow cover could remain through Tuesday.
Travel is not advised, but if motorists must be out they should use low speeds, buckle up, maintain a “space cushion” for maneuverability by maintaining a safe distance of at least 500 feet between vehicles, and be mindful of slow-moving snow plows.
During winter weather, District 9’s northeast Kentucky highway crews work 12-hour shifts using snow plow and salt truck crews to keep roadways in the best possible condition. Crews and contractors in District 9 have more than 75 snow plows and about 18,000 tons of salt stockpiled to fight snow and ice.
Kentucky traffic and travel information is available by dialing 511 or online at: http://www.511.ky.gov
Find out where snow plows are operating at: http://bit.ly/KYPlows
(story provided by Kentucky Department of Transportation)
