Highway crews continue to address roadway conditions after another round of snowfall and below-freezing temperatures Monday.
Kentucky Transportation District Four says many routes in the district showed improvement with treatment and sunlight, but the loss of sunlight and another round of frigid temperatures means packing and refreezing of covered roadways.
KYTC District Four Public Information Officer Chris Jessie says crews try to stay ahead of conditions with treatment, but conditions sometimes take options away from them.
“It’s not the biggest snowfall we’ve ever had, but it’s cold,” Jessie said. “It’s really, really cold, and that puts a whole new element to everything when it comes to snow fighting because salt doesn’t work. Calcium does work, but it’s something that we just can’t put down everywhere so you use it in the places you have to use it and that kind of thing.”
The lighter accumulation in most parts of the district also means that plowing the roads is not an effective option.
“You see some snow where you are maybe, but that may not be enough to really plow,” Jessie said. “If it’s just a big glaze on top of the roads the plows don’t get any ‘bite’ onto the road. They end up just kind of sealing it over like icing on a cake, so that really doesn’t help a lot either and again the salt’s not effective, that kind of thing.”
Tuesday’s forecast calls for no additional accumulation, so crews will begin application of salt and calcium early to maximize the effectiveness of sunlight. Motorists should anticipate changing pavement conditions over short distances as the amount of sunlight a roadway is getting will impact efforts to clear snow and ice.
Jessie says use caution when driving, or if you can stay off the roads altogether.
“Folks need to be patient,” Jessie said. “They certainly don’t have to get out, the typical winter driving messaging applies here. It’s just really, really cold so it adds that other element. If you go out and you get stuck somewhere it becomes even more dangerous just sitting in your car trying to wait for help because it is so cold.”
Options remain available for people in need of shelter from the winter weather.
“Due to the exceptionally cold temperatures our region is expected to experience between Sunday, January 14 and Tuesday, January 16, the City of Elizabethtown, City of Radcliff, and City of Vine Grove have collectively established a fundamentally consistent procedure to assist those without adequate shelter,” said Elizabethtown Police Department Public Information Officer Chris Denham.
Any citizen who is displaced and in need of assistance should contact one of the following phone numbers:
-City of Elizabethtown residents may call 270-765-4125
-City of Radcliff residents may call 270-351-4477
-City of Vine Grove residents may call 270-877-2252
Any Hardin County resident who resides outside of a municipality’s city limits may contact the police department for the city closest to them.
