Preparation for weekend snow storm across Southern Colorado starts early

The drive across Colorado Springs is clear for now but a snowstorm is on the way.

Colorado Springs Operations Manager Jack Ladley says his crews are already preparing for it.

“I expect this storm to definitely be plowable snow,” he says.

Today, snow crews started pre-treating trouble spots like the bridges on South Academy, Circle Drive, Austin Bluffs and Union and the hill on Fillmore. It’s the same spot that drivers couldn’t make it up just one week ago.

Drivers can’t see the liquid magnesium chloride treatment on the road but it’s supposed to prevent snow from sticking, but sometimes it doesn’t work especially when rain hits the road first.

Ladley says, “we want to try and keep that precipitation from bonding with the pavement. Sometimes it’s effective and sometimes it not, but it’s worth the effort to get out and give it a try.”

On the I-25, signs are already warning drivers to watch for their pre-treating trucks along the interstate.

Michelle Peulen, a Communications Manager for CDOT says the biggest concern for drivers on weekends like this, is the surrounding traffic.

She says, “sometimes drivers see the plows as an inconvenience and we realize that. We realize the snow plows slow you down but they’re there to make the roads safe.”

While the roads may not look it right now, drivers should start preparing for the storm now.