Dennis Burkheimer, the Iowa DOT's winter operations administrator, says the Iowa DOT's maintenance facilities are prepared for the challenges of winter weather in Iowa. The Iowa DOT's 110 maintenance garages employ approximately 1,200 equipment operators, mechanics and supervisors to keep the agency's 900 trucks on the road during a winter weather event.

"We're prepared with a stockpile of approximately 200,000 tons of salt and nearly 2 million gallons of salt brine to help maintain safe travel on nearly 9,400 miles of roadway," said Burkheimer.

The Iowa DOT uses salt brine, a mixture of rock salt and water, to help with snow and ice removal operations. The salt brine can be used to pretreat the roadways before a storm to help reduce the bond between precipitation and the pavement. Brine is also used to prewet the salt before it leaves the truck, which gives the salt a jump start on its ability to melt snow and ice, and helps keep the material on the roadway.

You may also see Iowa DOT trucks spraying bridge decks with brine on a day when no snow or ice is in the forecast. This action is done to prevent the formation of frost on bridge decks, which typically occurs on cold, clear nights. Frost can be dangerous to travelers who have been driving on perfectly dry roads and then come upon a frost-covered bridge deck. The Iowa DOT receives customized weather forecasts that include a forecast for bridge frost. This forecasts allow the Iowa DOT to treat the bridge decks to help prevent the formation of frost.

The Iowa DOT also uses a network of 61 roadway weather information system (RWIS) sensors that report current pavement and subsurface temperatures, along with other weather information. This information helps snowfighters determine how to most effectively treat the roadways. RWIS data and current forecast information are also available to the public at dotweatherview.com to assist with trip planning.

Burkheimer also cautions motorists to buckle up, turn on headlights, discontinue use of cruise control, and reduce speeds during winter driving conditions.

Give yourself extra time to reach your destination safely. It is not worth putting yourself and others in a dangerous situation, just to be on time. Remember when driving in ice and snow ... take it slow.