BARRE, Vt. (WCAX) – The first real winter weather of the season is headed to our region over the next few days, and state and local road crews are prepping to keep the roads safe.
The salt and sand are stacked and the fleet of plows is prepared for whatever the winter brings.
“We have a great crew and they’re ready to respond whether small events like we’ve had this week or the big ones. They get our streets cleared pretty quick,” said Barre City Manager Nicolas Storellicastro.
With changing weather patterns, Barre modified its policy from a hard parking ban to a weather-dependent one. “There were a lot of times last year when we didn’t have plow events so people could’ve been parking on the streets, so it really encouraged us to try something new,” Storellicastro said.
The city has nine plow trucks that sand and salt the roads prior to a storm and plow overnight between 1 to 6 a.m. During that time, residents can park on the streets unless the city sends an alert through the Regroup App.
At the state level, Greg Smith at VTrans says they’ve done their usual preparations but are ready to adapt if needed. “With freezing rain, we’ll call our folks in ahead of time, stage them at different u-turns throughout our interstate routes, or different ends of some of our routes. That way, we can get a layer of salt down both ways and do our best to ensure the safety of the traveling public,” Smith said.
He says their plow needs vary across the state, with the highest demand in Burlington and a few locations in Central Vermont. He also reminds drivers to stay cautious and aware of them on the road. “Watch out for us out there in our big orange trucks. We all have loved ones we want to get home to so just take it easy, slow down, don’t crowd the plow, and just watch for changing conditions,” Smith said.
Consult WCAX Weather and New England 511 for the latest conditions.