KANSAS CITY, Mo — Local and state agencies are working around the clock to clean up roads this weekend after the winter storm.
Maggie Green, Kansas City, Missouri, media relations manager, says the south and central area of the city is in good shape as of early Sunday afternoon. More resources will be deployed to the north where roads were hit harder by the storm.
“We’ve had crews out all day today. We’re using calcium chloride and ice band — two products that really help our salt activate when it gets really cold,” Green said. “We’re really focusing heavily now on residential areas right now.”
Green says pretreating the roads early in the week is helping with cleanup. Workers are hoping to beat the clock before commuters and school buses hit the roads Monday morning.
A live snow map is on the city website that can help people track piles of snow before driving. Drivers should expect to see crews working overnight and well into the sunrise.
“The snow kinda came in on New Year’s Eve, so we had a few people call in Friday night, but we did have a fully staffed shift on Friday night as well as yesterday — a holiday,” Green said. “I think we’re close to about 300 drivers that have been out over the course of the snowstorm in total.”
Melissa Black with the Missouri Department of Transportation warns the public to not underestimate the dangers of refrozen icy roads, especially on curves, hills, bridges and overpasses.
“You are not supposed to try over-correcting," Black said. "So I think you’re supposed to steer into it and not break. Take your foot off the gas and basically try not to freak out."
Drivers are also advised to drive slower than usual, leave plenty of room between vehicles and make sure their car can withstand the conditions.
“Make sure the tires are in good shape. You wanna make sure your oil is changed, make sure you have the right tires on your vehicle, if that's the issue, make sure your fluids are topped off and then make sure you have an emergency kit with you,” Black said.
MoDOT has emergency response operators that respond to calls around the metro. In more severe cases, stranded car owners can reach out to the state highway patrol for roadside assistance.
