INDOT, local county departments prepare for another round of wintery weather Monday

MARSHALL COUNTY, Ind. — Snowplows and salt trucks are going on Day 3 of around-the-clock response in order to keep Michiana’s roadways safe from mounting snow and slick roads.

"We're going to have everyone back out covering all of our district because the snow is going to be everywhere again,” says Cassandra Bajek with INDOT Northwest.

“We haven't had our plows taken off the roads at all since the snow started on Friday or Saturday, so we're still anticipating, all of our drivers are still running their routes right now, they're doing some cleanup operations from the lake effect snow we saw yesterday, they're still salting if there's areas that need it."

Salt will be the key to melt and then help dry the snow on the street, and more-so, help prevent refreshing overnight and black ice.

Even though it’s cold, it’s not cold enough to make salt ineffective.

"The temperatures that we're seeing right now are going to be fine for salt,” Bajek advises. “I think it's around fifteen degrees that we start looking a little closer of whether or not it's going to work but generally speaking as long as temperatures are above zero, salt is going to do something out there."

INDOT will be out in full force clearing the state roads, whereas local counties like Marshall will be working in tandem, covering as many county roads they can by priority.

“The county kind of splits up, the same way INDOT does, where we've got those roads that are more heavily trafficked, in Marshall County that's like your Michigan Street where it's not part of a state highway; those are your first priority. But we've also got all these roads that maybe service one or two houses on it that they've also gotta get plowed out. We have a lot of ground to cover, and a lot less resources to do it, but they're doing a great job,” says Marshall County Emergency Management Director Jack Garner.

They all remind drivers that even when roads are treated, weather like this always calls for the golden rule of winter driving: be cautious of slick spots and slow down.

"That's just why we really tell people in the midst of a snow event, you're going to have to slow down even if we're keeping up with the snowfall and getting it off the roads quickly, it can still leave some slick spots behind,” Bajek says.

Drivers can see snapshots from live cameras on INDOT’s snow plows by visiting INDOT’s 511in.org website.