Mother Nature is certainly giving everyone in Highlands a winter workout.
The daily bounce between mild days in the 40’s and 50’s and frigid afternoons below freezing has made checking the weather one of the most important tasks each morning.
One particular group of professionals who have been on their toes over the past month are the Town of Highlands and NC Department of Transportation road crews who take up their plows any time that snow is in the forecast. To this point, their effort has been exemplary in keeping traffic moving during multiple snow events in less than two weeks time.
Christmas Eve saw roughly three inches of snow fall on the area, and while travel was impacted, the roads were kept in a condition that held down the number of traffic accidents and other potentially dangerous emergency calls.
A second snow event on Friday led to slick spots, but no completely impassable roads. Preplanning and pretreating of roadways paid dividends once the precipitation started to fall.
With approximately two inches of snow on top of freezing rain, travel conditions were far from ideal but the road crews did their best to clear the main arteries as fast as possible before turning to side roads.
Additional snow flurries, combined with below-freezing temperatures on Monday morning brought potential for additional road headaches. Once again travel lanes remained open and all primary roads remained passable.
Like many jobs, driving a salt truck or a snow plow can often be a thankless endeavor and the only attention comes when roads are not cleared in a timely fashion to the dismay of the public. That’s why it is important to recognize the excellent work the road crews have done thus far.
With snow possible later in the week, potentially during midday on Friday, there is very little time for road crews to relax. It’s beginning to look like a long winter ahead, but hopefully with some planning and added preparedness everyone can make it through safely on Highlands area roads.