Find out how area public works departments prepare for a winter storm

Columbia, MO. (KMIZ.)

Columbia and Jefferson City Public Works are preparing their crews as Missouri heads into another winter storm.

In Columbia, crews are focusing on checking maintenance on each of its trucks so they're ready to go tomorrow morning.

John Ogan who works for Columbia Public Works says putting in a few hours of preparation now will help its crews save time later.

ABC 17, also spoke with a few residents to see if they plan on driving during the winter weather conditions.

Columbia resident Russel O'Brien says he plans on staying home after a semi-truck driver tried to push him off the road in a previous snowstorm. O'Brien also says he feels more comfortable staying home during the storm because the roads can get slick.

"The ice is pretty scary and I just don't want to risk it," O'Brien said.

Columbia Public Works goes into each winter with at least 5,000 tons of salt. John Ogan who works for Columbia Public Works tells me right now they most likely have around 3,500 tons of salt left.

For the time being, crews will monitor weather conditions and they'll have 26 crews out tomorrow morning to help clear the roads. Ogan says whatever the winter weather conditions are, the team is ready.

When the snow does start to fall Public Works in both Columbia and Jefferson City are urging drivers to stay home. Not only is this the safest option but it allows the plow drivers to work more freely.

"If you do encounter a plow truck give it some room, don't try to pass it, that allows workers just to do their job more quickly and more safely and more efficiently and that's for the benefit of the whole community," Ogan said.

In Jefferson City, Public Works crews are also preparing for more winter weather tomorrow. Crews left their facility hours ago and have already started pre-treating the roads with salt. As of now, Public Works is doing well on staffing and they have plenty of salt to pre-treat the roads.

Britt Smith who works for Public Works says the amount of salt they use varies on the storm but on average it's anywhere between two and four hundred tons per storm but they used way more than this during the last storm.

"An example with the one last week we used a little more than 900 tons because of all the ice that was associated. So as the amount of ice goes up so does the amount of salt", Smith said.

Right now Jefferson City Public Works has 24 drivers out pre-treating the roads. Smith told me these crews will be out until late at night.  A smaller crew will then replace them, but this number could change depending on how bad the snow gets overnight.

As crews start plowing roads, public works say the less traffic they have out on the roads the easier it will be for crews to get the job done. Public works also say if there is any way drivers can park on the side streets while crews are doing the clearing operation it makes their job a lot easier.