SUSSEX COUNTY, Del. -- Another wintery mix is targeting Delmarva. DelDot crews were out and about on Wednesday, doing their best to get a head start on Mother Nature.
Pavement treatment trucks, filled with salt and brine, are a big part of DelDot's game plan.
"The intention of brine is really to lower the freezing point of the moisture that's hitting the road surface, so instead of freezing up right at 32 degrees, it really brings it down into the teens," said C.R. McLeod, DelDot's Director of Community Relations.
McLeod said those trucks will be in service until the wintery mix passes.
"We are going to have staffing in place through the overnight hours, out treating roads, to ensure that we're not seeing any widespread icing occurring, and hopefully, it will turn to rain very early tomorrow morning," said McLeod.
In Maryland, road crews took a different approach. MDOT told WBOC that pre-treatment efforts could be ineffective.
"If it starts to rain and then changes to snow, it just washes that material right off the roadway," said Charlie Gischlar, Deputy Director of MDOT's communication team.
MDOT will, however, have crews on standby throughout Wednesday night and into Thursday morning.
"We'd rather get out there early and stage, that way, if Mother Nature throws us a curveball, we can be ahead of the game there," said Gischlar. "As soon as the first forms of precipitation start to fall we'll be out and we'll continue to monitor through the entire evening, treat accordingly."
McLeod and Gischlar told us they expect more rain than snow, which should bode well for drivers. Both state agencies are still asking drivers to be careful and recommend delaying their morning commutes if possible.