MDOT is using a little high-tech help to bust-up the black ice expected to form around the D.C.-area when temperatures drop on Thursday.
"We have some alerts on Rt. 50 where we want to know that temperature is 33 degrees and we're starting to get a little ice on the road,” said the head of the Maryland State Highway Administration, Greg Slater.
Slater is the MDSHA Administrator and was able to pull up a map with areas blinking in red where ice appears to be forming. How do they know this? Slater said they have sensors inside their roadways.
They use this tool to monitor temperatures and deploy salt trucks where needed. That technology, along with more than 1,000 live cameras, can all be found inside there Hanover, Md., Statewide Operations Center.
"Reagan National actually reported four inches of snow in about three hours. We saw that across that route 50 corridor south-side of the Capital Beltway and you know, so we just had to crank-up our crews, said Slater.
On Wednesday, the group had a busy day responding to more than 500 incidents since midnight on Tuesday, according to their Twitter page. Maryland State Police said they responded to more than 1,000 calls between 8 a.m. March 20st and 4 p.m. March 21st.
The exact breakdown includes: 579 vehicle crashes and 322 disabled vehicle calls.
"What we're really focused on now is drainage as this starts to melt and freeze and treating those roadways,” said Slater, who told WUSA9 a great deal of their equipment will be focusing on bridges and overpasses.
They usually freeze first.
The snow may have stopped for some, but trucks are still treating the roads.
Give them space and remember, if the roadway looks wet when it’s below freezing outside…it could be black ice.
