Transportation officials are bracing for winter weather in northeastern Kansas. For Wednesday night, NE Kansas KDOT crews pre-treated bridges/elevated areas and were waiting to see what the winter storm brought.

Snowplow crews begin plowing with 1/2” accumulation or more, and were planning to treat roadways with salt (or salt/sand mix in rural areas) as needed throughout the overnight and into the early morning hours tomorrow.

Generally, heavier treating is done closer to the morning rush hour as salt will be ineffective during the overnight hours due to the brutal cold mid-teen temps.

No regional numbers are available yet, but statewide, the Kansas Dept. of Transportation has stored 130,000 tons of salt and 60,000 tons of salt/sand mix in preparation for the winter driving season. The northeast Kansas region keeps 156 people on its daytime shift and 152 on the night shift. They operate about 130 snow plows, including one tow plow in the KC Metro Area, and cover about 6,365 miles of road.

Based on a five-year average (including 2015-16 season), KDOT spends $15.5 million on an annual basis statewide for winter snow/ice maintenance operations.