North Carolina DOT ready for snow

RALEIGH (WTVD) -- Yeah, it's not snowing and there's none in the forecast, but the North Carolina Department of Transportation says it's ready for winter weather.

NCDOT had its annual winter weather preparation session at the Wake County Maintenance Yard in Raleigh Tuesday.

About 40 employees tested snow equipment on about 50 trucks. They placed snow plows on trucks to make sure everything works.

"We have to get them ready to go," said maintenance worker Earl Wood who tested a plow. "If they're not ready, we put them in the shop so they'll be ready to go."

NCDOT employees also made sure the spreaders are ready to distribute salt and sand on snowy and icy roads.

The preparations are held every year during Thanksgiving week, so NCDOT will be ready for winter, well before it officially hits on December 21.

"We're going to come in when it snows and we'll be here for the duration of the storms to come," said NCDOT Wake County Maintenance Engineer Jason Dunigan.

In addition to having enough snow equipment for about 50 trucks, there are 6,000 tons of salt-enough to spread on roads before and after a storm.

"We've got enough salt to prep the roads before the storm and enough to put on the roads after the storm," Dunigan said.