COLE COUNTY - MoDOT and the Cole County Public Works Department remain diligent in the aftermath of the first storm of the season. The storm made driving conditions treacherous.
MoDOT said it planned ahead this past summer, calculating there would be need for more salt to handle the aftermath of ice storms.
"That's one of the difficult things about ice, whereas snow our trucks can actually plow it off the road," said Eric Schroeter, a MoDOT engineer. "With ice we basically have to wait for mother nature to warm up, or we got to melt it off with salt or other chemicals."
MoDOT officials said they have 8,000 tons of salt stockpiled, at a cost of $360,000. All that salt plays a big part in reducing the dangers caused by icy conditions.
Icy roads lead to fatalities, and here at the Missouri Department of Transportation, you can see they keep a detailed list of roadway fatalities. Right now in mid-Missouri, there are 93 fatalities, compared to 2006, when there were 139.
The Missouri Highway Patrol blames this weekend's highway fatality on icy roads. Those who know how dangerous icy roads are advise drivers to be cautious.
"I think that people have to realize that when it snows, they cannot act like it's dry pavement," Bill Tieder of G.M. Supply said. "They have to recondition themselves and their driving habits."
MoDOT officials say they have enough salt to last the winter.
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