Crews prepare for Saturday’s snow, rain mix

January 23, 2015 6:54 pm

By: Rebecca Turco

Email: rturco@abc6.com

PROVIDENCE – Plow crews are busy mixing salt and sand to treat the roads, with upwards of six inches of snow expected to hit northern Rhode Island.

But of course, despite even with planning, every snowstorm is different. “I’ve seen it here where we’ve had rain in the south part of town and snow in the north part of town, so it gets kind of interesting,” explained Scituate Department of Public Works Director Bob Dexter.

What makes Saturday’s forecast tricky is the expected bouts of rain mixing in after the snowy roads will have already been treated. “When it washes away, we have to go out again and make sure there’s salt and sand on the roads so it doesn’t refreeze and people can get traction,” explained Joe Cardillo, director of the Public Works Department in Foster. “It’s very dangerous on the country roads.”

Worst case scenario, public works departments could potentially use double the salt mix. “Ice storms tend to take more material than the snow does because we have to keep going out repetitively, making sure the roads are safe,” Cardillo said.

The Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) pre-treated state roads with a salt brine mix. “We’ll be doing what is called for for this particular event,” explained Rose Amoros with RIDOT. “Every storm event brings with it its own unique set of challenges and circumstances.”

Dexter expects Scituate to use 150 tons of the salt and sand mix, and Cardillo expects Foster to use 100 tons.