ST. LOUIS (KMOX) – Crunch time is when the rain switches to freezing rain — that’s when MoDOT trucks will start making their rounds, hitting major roadways with treatment.
Mark Croarkin, assistant district engineer for MoDOT in St. Louis, also calls it, “absolutely the worst time to be on the road.”
Rain washes the chemical off the road, he says. Crews want the roads to be wet, and the temperature to be slightly above freezing to spread material.
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And they expect “bridges to drop first,” because of today’s warm weather.
“Ice is ice, I say. Any ice is bad,” Croarkin says.
Between 5 and 6 p.m. would be a good time to be off the roads, he advises.
“If you can be home early tonight, it’s a good night to be home early. But if you have to be out, go slow, give people space.”
Some good news — Croarkin doesn’t anticipate any problems in the morning, with the bulk of the nasty weather to happen from 6 p.m. to midnight.
Croarkin does believe most of the icy road issues will occur south of the St. Louis region.
