With a winter storm on the horizon, the City of Reno is making sure to prepare the roadways in advance. Around 6:00 a.m. Friday, crews began loading their trucks up with brine and heading out into the city.
They focused on what officials called problematic areas, including hills, priority one roadways, and around intersections. With around 2,400 lane miles of roadway, they had to be strategic in their preparations.
The city is reminding folks that not every road is in its jurisdiction, but may be an NDOT maintained road, like McCarran Blvd, and parts of Virginia Street.Â
With the storm not expected until Sunday night, local residents were concerned if the brining solution would last and actually help melt the ice. Officials said brine is actually a mixture of salt and water, and it's mixed to a very specific ratio so that it doesn't freeze itself after it's put down, creating a bond breaker so that as the snow falls and even ice starts to develop, it won't bond with the pavement as it starts to melt it off. The bond breaker is strong enough that if the Biggest Little City doesn't see rain, the brine will last several days.
Officials also want to reassure residents that crews will be on standby Sunday and Monday, despite it being President's Day, in case conditions are worse than expected.
Officials say the most important thing to remember is that after the storm, mornings are likely to be icy. They say to drive slowly and leave plenty of following distance.
