ROANOKE, Va. – Winter weather blanketed Southwest Virginia with snow, and road crews have been working 12-hour shifts to prevent snowy roads from becoming icy roads.
"We got to it early," said Brent Finney, who has worked with the City of Roanoke's Transportation Division for more than 20 years. "That was the good part. We were able to get here, get a lot of salt down quick, and that makes a difference."
The city has 32 trucks out at any given time maintaining 1,300 miles of road. Finney said Wednesday's daytime temperature made it easier for crews to clear the roads.
"We've still got the temperature enough to where the salt will work," Finney said.
Finney said the area's hilly terrain and people parking on both sides of a street can make a plow driver's job more challenging.
"That's the worst thing," Finney said. "If at all possible, people ought to be on one side or the other. That gives us an area to push the snow and get it out of the road."
He also shared crews' strategy for getting roads clear as quickly as possible.
"What you want to do is open up the road, first and foremost," he said.