Missouri Department of Transportation wants drivers to know they are prepared for the winter weather ahead

CAPE GIRARDEAU Mo. (KBSI) – Local Road crews have their eyes on the weather and The Missouri Department of Transportation wants drivers to know they are prepared. 

“Right now, we’re getting our equipment ready, getting plows and our spreader beds in the trucks ready to go,” said Bryant.

Amy Bryant the District Maintenance Engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation. She says she’s surprised mother nature has been quite so far this season. She says the plows are ready and the salt is stocked up. She knows anything can happen. 

“Right now, it’s kind of all over the place. So, you know, in our district, we’re looking at, like, snow, ice or freezing rain. Rain event, coming in. we’re currently just watching the forecast,” said Bryant.

Missouri’s Department of Transportation says they stay in close contact with the National Weather Service to have the most recent updates on what weather to expect on the roadways. 

“So, we’re waiting for more confidence before we kind of make our final determination on, you know, when we’re going to start having crews out. But we’re getting, letting our crews, you know, know what to expect to come in this weekend to work. So, we’ll have day and night shifts going on. So that’s our main focus,” said Bryant.

Bryant says they use the Motor Carrier Services System that is a communicator for truck drivers to let them know what roadways are closed or if they’ll experience worse weather in that area. 

They are also updating any travel information about the people in their region on their Travel Information Map. 

“We have our travel information map out there that keeps road conditions up to date. Or there. They can call in to our, you know, 1888 pass MoDOT number and get a condition, get conditions from our customer service reps who are on call,” said Bryant.