FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich. (WXYZ) — Road crews are warning drivers of potential icy conditions as a storm barrels down over metro Detroit.
Road crews in Farmington Hills say they have been watching the storm for several days. They began pretreating roads Tuesday with a salt brine and organic beet juice mixture. Wednesday crews returned to the roads to apply a granular mixture to prevent the icy slush from adhering to road surfaces.
"We have almost 200 major road lane miles and 500 local road lane miles which is kind of hard to hit because you can’t be everywhere at once," said Bryan Pickworth with Farmington Hills Department of Public Works."They’re talking at least a 1/4 of an inch in ice possible so it’s going to be very challenging."
Pickworth says a total of six crews will be on the city's road ways. They're planning to focus on primary roads first and then will make their way into neighborhood streets. He says hilly terrain can also make for difficult driving conditions.
"We try to be as proactive as we can in a regular snow storm but an ice storm you really just gotta play it hour by hour and try to be as reactive as you can," said Pickworth.
The Department of Public Works in the city of Novi says they're also working to keep roads clear. Crews started throwing out some liquids Tuesday. Crews returned to the road Wednesday morning to continue beating back the frost.
"We feel good. We have plenty of salt. The crews are fresh. It’ll just be a time thing, the duration and how long it takes for the storm to push through," said Jeff Herczeg with the Novi Department of Public Works.
Both Herczeg and Pickworth say while ice accumulation poses a challenge to drivers they're also concerned about the impact the ice storm will have on forestry and power lines. There are crews in place should outages become an issue as a result.
They say they're urging drivers to stay home if they can and drive cautiously if they have to travel.
"Drive for the conditions. Always drive for conditions. Stay away from the trucks if at all possible. Just take your time," said Herczeg.
