ODOT prepping for this week's freezing rain storm

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Central Ohio is gearing up for some more winter weather, this time in the form of freezing rain early Tuesday morning.

The Ohio Department of Transportation prepared all day Monday ahead of the storm, with crews inspecting equipment, preparing trucks and loading up on salt.

Hannah Salem with ODOT District 6, which covers most of central Ohio, said the main job for plow drivers on Tuesday is laying down salt to prevent ice.

“We will use a lot of salt throughout this ice storm,” she said. “That’s typically the process for when we’re getting that type of weather in. Timing is always very important with these storms, so if the rain is going to come in at midnight versus at 4 a.m., that has a big impact.”

Salem said the preparations for the freezing rain were not quite as intense as the preparations for last Friday’s snow, and that snowstorm actually worked in our favor.

“With the storm we had this weekend being so close to this freezing rain and ice storm, the roads do still have a lot of salt still remaining on them, so they kind of are already pre-treated,” Salem said. “So today, our crews are really just focusing on getting their equipment ready before they come in this evening.”

During freezing rain, Salem said ODOT plow drivers are on the lookout for ice patches or slick spots that can cause problems for drivers.

“Typically, our bridges and overpasses freeze first, but the pavement temperatures are going to be fairly low throughout the evening and the morning, so they’ll kind of be monitoring all of the roadways and treating when they see any slick spots out there,” she said.

Since the start of 2024, 14 ODOT plows have been hit across the state, so Salem also encouraged people to give the plows plenty of room.