INDIANAPOLIS — Salt has been sprinkled on sidewalks ahead of freezing rain, but when it comes to treating icy roadways, it can be tricky.
"When you're dealing with ice, you're dealing with rapidly changing conditions. One minute it seems fine, the next minute, we've got slick spots all over the county," said Corey Ohlenkamp, who works for Indianapolis' Department of Public Works.
Ohlenkamp said 60 drivers spent the day pretreating roads, and another 60 will be working overnight to tackle the freezing rain and icy conditions.
"Right now, we're doing what we call brining, which is getting that material down so that it does mix with some of the residual snow," Ohlenkamp said.
INDOT says it's doing a full callout, which means they'll have about 50 trucks on the road in this area at any given time.
"So, the temperature that were seeing the freezing rain tonight is not the best application for salt, if that makes sense. So that's why we're using brine. Now I know a lot of people have feelings about brine, however it does allow us to work under these really freezing cold conditions," INDOT spokesperson Kyleigh Cramer said.
And while both INDOT's and DPW's priority is keeping streets drivable, they also want motorists to be safe.
"If you are driving over a bridge, especially tomorrow morning when we're going to see that really freezing, adhering temperatures, making sure people slow down, no matter what road you're on, but especially bridges, making sure people know to slow down, making sure they're driving distraction-free," said Cramer said.
Ohlenkamp agreed with that advice.
"Conditions when you're running under ice is a lot different than packed snow. It takes an exceptional amount more space to get your vehicle stopped. So, you want to make sure you're taking into account for that when you're out and about," Ohlenkamp said.