City of Lincoln plow team battles snow on Christmas Day
LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – Lincoln saw a white Christmas on Monday, leaving slick roads across the city.
Sunday night, plow teams with the Lincoln Transportation and Utilities Department began applying snow-fighting chemicals to the roads.
Once the rain turned to snow, they began clearing the streets.
Maintenance operations manager Tim Byrne said LTU has been monitoring conditions since last week and wanted to get the brine down early.
“We use it as a pre-wet to granular salt that we use on the roadways,” he said. “It also helps us by reducing the bond between snow and ice and the pavement, which allows us to remove it off the streets much easier.”
So far, Lincoln’s plows have focused their efforts on arterial streets and bridges.
Once those are finished, Byrne said crews will focus on the city’s bus routes and residential streets.
SEE ALSO: Winter weather hits Nebraska as millions across U.S. travel for Christmas
He said drivers on the plow team have been switching off to provide nonstop coverage.
“We’re running on 12-hour rotations,” Byrne said. “They’ll be running as late as midnight tonight. And then we do have staff available to relieve them if need be so we can make sure the morning commute goes smoothly.”
SEE ALSO: White Christmas in Nebraska
Outside Lincoln, the weather caused several crashes on Interstate 80.
The Nebraska State Patrol said it responded to crashes between Lincoln and Grand Island all morning.
Lincoln also had several reports of crashes throughout the day, but so far, there haven’t been any life-threatening injuries.
Officials are reminding drivers to take it slow and leave plenty of space during winter weather conditions.
SEE ALSO: Nebraska officials encourage caution while driving to holiday activities
