Road crews monitoring chance for slick Thursday evening commute

Mid-Missouri road crews are keeping an eye on Thursday’s forecast as rain and a big drop in temperatures are expected during the afternoon hours.

“With the temperature swing that is in the forecast, we’re going to have to keep a close eye on that timing and try to apply our crews out there on the road at the right time,” said Britt Smith, Operations Division director with Jefferson City Public Works.

Smith, as well as officials with MoDOT and Columbia Public Works, said any pretreatment work would wash away with the rain, making it difficult to do anything until a freeze starts to happen.

“Normally we get a little bit of a warning. As it still slowly starts to get a little colder, you can tell when it’s time to get out there in front of it,” Smith said. “But if it happens all at once, it’s going to happen all at once everywhere. Obviously we can’t be everywhere at the same time.”

Drivers could run into some slick roads during the Thursday evening commute. Road crews are asking drivers to also monitor road conditions and allow for extra travel time.

MoDOT is asking drivers to check its Travel Map for the latest road conditions.

Columbia Public Schools announced Wednesday the districts plans to release students and staff 2 1/2 hours early due to the expected weather.