Lincoln Public Works continues de-icing roads

Posted By: Nicole Cousins

ncousins@klkntv.com

PUBLIC WORKS UPDATE: Public Works reports that after midnight Monday, if priority routes remain in good condition, 10 material spreading crews will be deployed to residential streets to apply sand to hazardous areas.  Until then, all 20 material spreading crews will continue to patrol all emergency snow routes, arterials, bus and school routes, applying granular salt, pre-wet with anti-ice brine where necessary. If conditions worsen, all crews will resume full material spreading operations on the priority routes.

Lincoln Public Works road crews have been working around the clock to keep city streets safe.

With ice Sunday afternoon into Monday morning, the major focus for rig drivers like Dave Predmore has been to keep the slick stuff off major roads.

And, with a little help from other drivers, they’ve done just that.

"Most of the people are really good about staying back aways,” Predmore, who’s worked for the City of Lincoln for 13 years, said. “Every now and then you get someone that’s in a hurry."

Dave’s route Monday spanned from along O Street from Sun Valley Boulevard to 27th Street.

It focused on the Harris Overpass and the well travelled cobblestones of the Haymarket.

“Bridges are the first to freeze,” Predmore said. “And I’ve been focusing on where the cars are parked downtown, those areas that we couldn’t get to earlier.”

City brine and de-icing trucks started prepping Lincoln streets for winter weather last Friday.

Their efforts minimized the potential for ice to accumulate on major roads.

“I think for the most part we were well ahead with the program on it far enough ahead with the salt brine and stuff we didn’t have near the problems,” he said.

It takes a team effort: a host of different trucks with chemicals all made and housed in a warehouse just northeast of the Lincoln Municipal Airport.

Dave’s rig was applying a hard salt mixture, mixed with an anti–ice brine solution to help keep roads and bridges from getting slick.

Public Works also makes other liquid salt mixtures to melt ice on roads, and beet juice to get everything to stick to the pavement.

They’ve made thousands of gallons of materials so far this season, and have thousands more handy. So when the next storm rolls in, they’ll be ready.