CDOT crews say they are ready for winter

Crews with the Colorado Department of Transportation say they are ready for whatever winter can throw at them.

The Denver Post (http://bit.ly/RW0OSG ) reports CDOT has $60.9 million to spend on plowing, sanding and de-icing 3,850 lane miles of interstates, freeways and state highways. About $6.6 million of that will be spent in the Denver metro area.

The agency will use 117 pieces of equipment this season, including 100 snowplows that apply liquid and/or solid de-icers, three 6,000-gallon tankers that apply liquid de-icers and 17 broom trucks to sweep up or pick up material after a storm.

But even with all that equipment, CDOT Executive Director Don Hunt says the department needs motorists’ help to keep the roads safe. He says drivers should slow down on wet or snowy roads and near snowplows.