LEXINGTON, Ky. (LEX 18) — Lexington's road crews spent Wednesday cleaning up the mess that remains on neighborhood streets after two rounds of winter storms moved through the area. But they'll soon have to return their attention to the main streets as new snow moves into the city.
"We have been doing 12-hour shifts since last Wednesday," said Lexington's Streets and Roads Director Rob Allen. "Tonight will be a complete week."
Their goal was to clear as many streets as possible to make it easier for upcoming snow removal.
"The key to treating roads is not letting it lock and bond into the pavement," said Allen. "So that's why a lot of times you see us salt brine where we can. We put down the rock salt if it's raining - just keeping it from locking in - so we're able to push it off."
The good news is Lexington is expecting mostly snow this time. That's what crews are hoping for because snow is easier to deal with than ice.
"We never really want to see that freezing rain component. You know Eastern Kentucky has been pounded. There are folks out there that may not get power back for a couple of weeks," said Allen. "And we already have a good amount of ice in our trees. Any more could start to cause some tree and power line failure, so we'll do a happy dance if all we get is snow."
And crews will have all the tools they need to fight this latest winter storm. The city's salt supply is healthy and new salt deliveries have been coming in.
"We've actually been taking limited deliveries of salt the last couple of days - kind of replenishing what we've been using," said Allen. "And of course, we have more on order. So, we're pretty comfortable with that."
