Tennessee Department of Transportation crews have been working around the clock to treat roads for winter weather conditions in Middle Tennessee.
Crews began treating roads with salt at 5 a.m. Friday. One TDOT worker said he filled his truck up with salt three times – they normally only need one load.
Because of the rain that moved through overnight Thursday into Friday, crews couldn’t pretreat roads with brine. They got an early start Friday morning, salting roads to create a “makeshift brine” when it mixed with water.
“It really depends on where you are,” TDOT spokesperson Kathryn Schulte said when describing road conditions Friday morning. “In the Metro Nashville area, the interstates really aren’t too bad but when you get farther west, we are seeing more slick spots on the interstate.”
Friday afternoon, TDOT officials released the following report concerning the main trouble areas:
- The I-65 ridge area (Millersville) is closed due to multiple crashes. The area is extremely icy, crews are treating the area but it may take some time to clear everything.
- Interstate flyover ramps are getting icy throughout Middle TN
- We have reports of patches of black ice on I-65 from Armory Drive to Cool Springs. Crews are treating the area but drivers should use extreme caution.
- I-24 in the Clarksville area has gotten a lot of snow. Crews are clearing but it will take time.
In one incident, a firetruck responding to another crash hit a slick spot, rolled off the road, and down a ditch in Antioch not far from Bell Road.
TDOT and other fire crews were on the scene and said fortunately no one was hurt. Crews worked Saturday to remove the truck from the ditch.
Roads deteriorated throughout the day as a layer of ice was covered by snow in many places. Learn more about road conditions, current traffic, and the winter weather.
