El Paso County, CDOT crews prepare for blizzard conditions expected in northern regions

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Road crews said that they saw less snow than expected Tuesday morning in the latest winter storm to move through the Palmer Divide, between Monument and Black Forest and the Douglas County line.

Public works executive director Kevin Mastin said that as of noon Tuesday, only a few inches had fallen.

"We had a meeting at 4:30 a.m. to evaluate the situation," he said. "But the weather forecasts we rely on have changed the path of the storm to move farther north. So, we may not get the six to eight inches we thought we would."

However, conditions quickly changed in the afternoon as blizzard conditions hit Calhan and the northeastern corner of the county; resulting in blowing and drifting snow, reduced visibility and slick roads.

Because the storm had little effect on other areas of the county, Mastin said that he could allocate more resources to the northern part; 27 plows are in place there, if needed.

"There wasn't much snow for them to deal with yet but there are other things they did to prepare," he explained. "They moved salt and sand supplies to other stations."

In anticipation of the storm, Mastin said that some crews -- around 30 people -- did have to work on the holiday weekend; crews also applied salt brine on roads as a pre-treatment earlier in the week, rather than the usual day before a storm.

"It's still effective for several days after it's applied," he said. "You don't want to apply it too early or too late."

The Colorado Department of Transportation also is prepared to allocate more resources to northern El Paso County.

"I don't have the specifics but I'm sure our crews applied salt brine, as well," she said. "We're doing all we can to prepare for snow and ice removal. But the important factor will be the strong winds that can reduce visibility. We can't do anything about them."

Mastin also mentioned that a new online program allowing the public to track the location of plows isn't active yet because of software issues, but should be ready within a week.