With future storms on the way, it's looking like the roads will be impacted. Especially in construction zones like the massive U.S. 395 project up in the North Valleys area.
The Nevada Department Of Transportation (NDOT) tells us that they actually started preparations back in the fall. Readying more than 80 snowplows and other pieces of snow removal equipment, as well as shifting employees to 12-hour shifts to ensure that northwestern Nevada gets 24-hour coverage.
Andrew Lawrence, assistant district engineer for NDOT, says, "We have been actively making brine if brine is necessary on the forecast, and our crews are also monitoring and working closely with the national weather service to get the most up to date forecast to make sure that we are ready to go when the snow rolls in."
Regarding the construction happening on U.S. 395, Lawrence says that their team is doing snow removal on the travel lanes and in the closed lanes to keep a safe clear road for the public and their workers.
"I think most everyone is aware of our major project that is going on from on US 395 from north McCarren to Golden Valley. Of course, we are working closely with our contractor on that project."
NDOT is also asking drivers to do their part in keeping everyone safe by driving responsibly in all weather conditions.
"We want you to drive at speeds that are appropriate to the conditions, so if that means we have snow or ice on the roadways, we should be slowing down, we should be leaving appropriate distances between the vehicles around us, we always want people to watch out for our snow removal equipment. Give our crews and our teams plenty of space so they can work as efficiently as possible," says Lawrence.
NDOT tell us while they are experiencing a 30% staffing shortage of highway maintenance workers, they will continue to work hard on keeping our roads clear and safe by prioritizing snow removal on interstates first.
