WASHINGTON — If you're a snow lover in D.C., the coming winter storm might have you feeling like this weekend is almost a holiday.
But for the people whose job is to keep the city moving, these are workdays.
Public works crews in D.C. are hustling to make sure the roads stay safe when the snow starts falling.
Shifts of D.C. Department of Public Works truck drivers were on the roads from Thursday night until noon Saturday to pretreat city streets with a mixture of brine and beet juice.
According to D.P.W. Director Chris Geldart, the mixture helps keep the roads clear by decreasing the temperature at which snow sticks to them.
"That can buy us a couple of inches once it does start snowing," said Geldart.
According to a statement from the D.P.W., crews will start salting the roads around 2 a.m. Sunday.
The roughly 200 D.P.W. trucks in service will have plenty to work with. Geldart says D.C.'s four salt domes are practically full.
If the weather turns to a rain and snow mixture, he says less salt might be used. But the D.P.W. is gearing up for anything.
"Our goal is to try to keep up with the roads as much as we can and not have to do a push event," said Geldart. "But we're prepared if we need to."
It is a full-court press to make sure the city keeps moving and to make sure that this snowstorm doesn't turn into a snow headache.
Geldart says D.P.W. staff are also keeping an eye on the potential for wind that could blow plowed snow back onto the roads.