ODOT, AES Ohio prepare as freezing rain moves into Miami Valley

Yahoo

05-02-2025

With winter weather moving in across the Miami Valley, the Ohio Department of Transportation and AES Ohio are sharing their plan to keep the community safe Wednesday night into Thursday morning.
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News Center 7′s Mason Fletcher spoke with Loryn Bryson, who works for ODOT, and AES Ohio Communications Director Mary Ann Kabel about their plans LIVE on News Center 7 at 11.
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Originally, ODOT was not going to pre-treat roads, but as new numbers came in over the past 24 hours, they changed their plan.
Trucks have been out since this afternoon putting down a brine solution, a mix of salt and water, in order to keep roads from freezing.
'Typically, it's 80 percent water to 20 percent salt. We mix it here in house and then we're able to load directly and refill as needed,' Bryson said.
Each truck holds 5,000 gallons, according to Bryson.
'As soon as the ice starts to hit the ground, it's going to start immediately melting,' Bryson said. 'So it's a little bit easier on our roads.'
Bryson says there are 23 trucks monitoring 23 routes, with the tankers focusing on the interstate.
'We're operating on a full crew. We're going to run a full crew through midnight and we're going to bring our overnight crews in and we'll be out as long as needed,' Bryson said.
Even with ODOT's preps, it's important to take it easy on the roads, which is exactly what Dayton resident Latoya Sims is planning to do. 'I'm just making sure I drive slow, drive with caution and make sure I keep a distance behind the car and stuff like that,' Sims said.
Ice can present more problems, especially for power line workers, according to AES Ohio Communications Director Mary Ann Kabel.
'That ice accumulates not only on our power lines, but on tree branches, and those tree branches, depending on the weight because ice is heavy, could fall on our power lines,' Kabel said.
Kabel says their crews are fully staffed and ready for whatever Wednesday night might bring.
'We're fully equipped to restore power quickly and safely,' Kabel said.
As far as power outages go, Kabel says they are not out of the question.
'We're always prepared and customers should prepare, too,' Kabel said.
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