First Alert Forecast: NCDOT crews brine roads in preparation for another winter storm

Monique John Image
Monday, January 20, 2025
Crews brine roads in preparation for another winter storm in Sandhills
NCDOT crews planning to use nearly 120,000 gallons of brine to treat roads and highways in the Sandhills

CUMBERLAND COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) crews are preparing for another winter storm that is expected to come through the region Tuesday evening.

To spray the 120,000 gallons of brine they have to get on the roads and highways in the Sandhills, they have to hit the ground running, NCDOT drivers tell ABC11.

"...Got to figure out what in the world we're doing in the first place: figure out what routes we're going to spray, how we're going to spray and who we're spraying them with..." said NCDOT driver Caleb Dowless.

Drivers brine their routes in two-hour-long periods, occasionally stopping to check in with their teammates about where to drive next and any missed spots. Dowless says it's a slow and tedious process, but that they get it done one lane at a time.

Dowless admits there are times when drivers get too close to his truck while he's trying to treat the roads and bridges--which can impede their work.

"All the time. All the time. I'll have a mist spraying out really far out to my left and to my right, and they'll drive right on through it. They don't tend to like that..."

NCDOT's Cumberland County Maintenance Engineer says his team has to plan for a baseline amount of snow to fall throughout the whole county but stay nimble.

"You've always got to plan for that and then at some point during the event, you have to be able to shift your resources, trucks, to where you're snow's at. So, it does change. Every event is different."

NCDOT's crew in Cumberland County says they're gearing up to be able to plow the roads starting late Tuesday.

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