FAYETTEVILLE (KFSM) - Officials with the Arkansas Highway Transporation Department said they have worked all week to ready their equipment for the upcoming weather event.
Spokesperson Danny Straessle said crews have been out pre-treating bridges and overpasses with salt brime. He said workers have checked their fleets' plows and spreaders to make sure all were functioning properly.
Straessle said crews are scheduled to come in Saturday (Jan. 10) at midnight in anticipation of the event.
For drivers out on the roads Sunday (Jan. 11) morning, Straeslee said his advice would be to slow down and keep ample distance between your car and the car in front of you. He also said that if you do start sliding, don't apply your brakes, just coast to the shoulder.
"Freezing rain is a very dangerous thing, because it falls as rain then it freezes on impact with the surface, so while it looks like rain, you don't see snow flakes or sleet, and pretty soon that roadway can and will freeze," Straessle said.
He said they have already prepared for any winter weather in 2015. He said the department has ordered 12,000 tons of salt brime to treat the roads. Straessle said that's enough to fill every storage facility across the state.