Skip to main content

Boreal Community Media

Highway Department Managing Icy Roads: Preparing for Storm

Dec 04, 2017 04:37PM ● By Editor

Highway Department Managing Icy Roads: Preparing for Storm

 December 4, 2017 – The Cook County Highway Department has been out since the early morning hours managing icy road conditions across the County today, and is gearing up for a 4 am start in preparation for even more severe weather. 

Reports of several treacherous and ice-covered roads and vehicles in ditches across the County overnight, came in through Dispatch. To help improve the roads, County Highway crews spent the entire day, sanding and grading ice off 95% of the County’s roads. 

As Winter Storm warnings are in effect and severe weather is expected. The Highway Department is preparing for a 4 am start time to implement the County Road Maintenance Plan.

“We encourage everyone to use extra caution,” said Valerie Marasco, Director – Office of Emergency Management & Public Information. “Slow down, and please give plows, graders and road equipment space to do their jobs safely. Our Highway crews go above and beyond to take care of our roads and we need them to come home safely as well. Monitor road conditions, and avoid travel overnight and in hazardous conditions if possible.”

A helpful resource that many agencies, including Emergency Management, the 911 Dispatch Communications Center and the National Weather Service rely on for road conditions and to make decisions about travel is: http://www.511mn.org/.  

You can also find road conditions on Boreal homepage by following this link.

http://www.boreal.org/2017/10/27/158501/mn-dot-road-conditions-report

On the site, you can track where plows currently are and have been across the State, view plow dash cameras to see the road conditions, view real-time cameras at many weather stations across the State (including Grand Portage, Silver Bay and Duluth), and even click on a specific highway or road to get a report of current conditions. Conditions are updated Monday-Friday, 3-6 am and 3-6 pm, and as conditions change. Outside of business hours, weekends and holidays, conditions are updated as they change. Please use the site to help you make informed decisions when travelling this winter.

Contact:  Valerie Marasco, Director – Office of Emergency Management & Public Information, 218-387-5366 or[email protected]

 

 

Boreal Ship Spotter - larger view here