Franklin County roads staff pre-treats ahead of weekend storm; forecast 3–10 inches, crews ready

Franklin County road and public works staff said on Jan. 2 they are pre-treating county roads and will deploy plows in advance of a winter storm expected Saturday into Monday.

A county transportation or public works official (title not specified in the record) told the commission the county began preparations this week, with pretreating scheduled today, tomorrow and Saturday as needed. The official said the county expects an average of about 7 inches of snow across most of Franklin County, with a possible range of 3 to 10 inches depending on location. The official said the northwest part of the county is likely to see drier snow while the southeast may see icier conditions.

"We're pretreating with a salt brine. We do not use beet juice, but we do use a calcium chloride brine," the official said. The official added that all trucks will be equipped and ready, and that plowing will begin on pretreated roads to help crews stay ahead of the storm.

Regarding equipment availability, the official said three trucks are currently down for repairs, that two of those are being worked on and expected to be back by Saturday morning, and that the county expects to operate with one truck out of service during the storm. The official said crews will be answering phone calls and that staff have been mustered to begin plowing Sunday if necessary.

Commissioners asked operational questions about pretreatment materials and truck readiness during the departmental report; the record shows these comments occurred during the departmental updates portion of the meeting rather than during a formal agenda item.

The commission adjourned after receiving the departmental update and routine motions to close the meeting.