Towing company prepares for ice problems, NCDOT treat roads with brine: 'It's chaos'

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) -- North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) officials have two main concerns heading into this weekend's storm.

Spokesperson Kim Deaner says crews are also expecting ice to linger on the roads for a while and there could be downed trees.

"With this type of event, we are expecting trees to be a major problem," said Deaner.

ABC11 is told that every available, certified subcontractor has been hired by DOT to help with tree removal and once the storm hits, there will be more than 250 trucks available to roam around Wake, Durham and adjacent counties.

"This is going to be a long-lived event in the sense that you aren't we're not going to be able to clear the roads as fast. It's impossible to do that with ice. It's impossible to do that with trees down," said Deaner. "We're going to be obviously working with the utility companies. They're going to be handling the power lines down. but we want to emphasize the importance of being home or in a safe space."

The DOT is urging folks not to take matters in their own hands if a tree does come crashing down on a road.

People are being asked to call 911 and report the incident, so the power can be cut and a professional can safely remove the tree.

Dave Overman owns Dave's Towing and is also urging folks to stay off the roads.

"We appreciate every phone call we get, but ice is a different story - just a whole different story," he said.

Overman has been in the towing business for 59 years and has weathered his share of storms throughout the decades.

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He says this weekend, likely, there will be times his crews won't be able to respond to someone stranded on the road.

He can wrap heavy chains around these tires for traction, but that can only help so much and the conditions could be too dangerous for drivers to respond.

"It's chaos, just chaos," said Overman. "Nobody functions in an ice storm. We can go. We put chains on and we do pretty good. But in ice, if you put a car on the back of a truck, it unloads the front end, so your steering goes away."

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