On Friday, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) was preparing the major roadways throughout Lubbock and the South Plains for wintry weather and cautioning drivers to be aware.
Dianah Ascencio, the public information officer for the Lubbock District, TxDOT says, “We do have crews that are preparing roadways, today [Friday] here in Lubbock County. We are pretreating our major roadways. That would be I-27, Loop 289, the Marsha Sharp Freeway, potions of US 84 and US 62.”
But she says that drivers may not be aware that wet weather conditions may diminish the effectiveness of the road pretreatment.
“Even though we are pretreating roadways today [Friday], bridges and overpasses — just because we pretreat roadways, that does not mean that they’re going to be ice free. So we definitely want them to be cautious and drive to conditions,” says Ascencio.
In addition to wet weather, the temperature also plays a part in the dangers of driving in bad weather conditions.
“Once that temperature gets below freezing, any kind of precipitation will get on the roads,” said Lt. Byran Witt from the Department of Public Safety.
“If you have light rain, it will freeze and then you might have snow on top of that so it look like you can travel in the snow but you’ve got to realize under that snow there might be a thin layer of ice, making stopping nearly impossible,” said Witt.
Officials always say if you don’t have to travel in this weather, then avoid doing it. But, if you do have to drive in these conditions, you’ll want to make sure you take precautions such as double checking tire treads and tire pressure. As always, make sure you buckle up and drive carefully.
