Road Operations Update - Saturday, February 1, 5:00PM

(COLUMBIA, MO) -

Columbia Public Works crews worked overnight spreading salt to fight the dangerous icy road conditions and keep 1st and 2nd priority routes passable for customers. Road conditions were extremely dangerous overnight, and shear ice accumulation led to numerous reports of collisions throughout the city.

Working overnight and into today, crews focused on making priority routes passable and also moved into residential areas as of 8am Saturday. As of 5 o'clock Saturday, about 10% of residential streets had been treated and plowed, and crews are working from the center of city outward. A full crew will be on duty treating roads around the clock this weekend until all residential areas are reached. 

Richard Stone, The City's Supervising Traffic Engineer, reported that 1nd and 2nd Priority routes were passable as of Saturday afternoon, but subdivisions were still very slick. He said crews are working as quick as they can to get everything cleaned up for customers before more precipitation hits. Refreezing overnight may slow operations in residential areas because more resources will have to pulled back to the priority routes, but crews will continue to work as quick as they can to improve the roads. 

Customers took to the City's social media pages Saturday afternoon for updates on road progress and to comment on the roads. 

Forecasts predict more winter weather will be entering the area over the next several days, and crews are preparing for the conditions.

Customers that have to travel should use extreme caution and leave plenty of space between vehicles. 

Monitor our activities and road conditions via our facebook and twitter feeds or on our new website at www.comosnow.com.