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North Texas is gearing up for the first major winter blast of the season, with several days of below‑freezing temperatures, snow, and ice expected to arrive later this week. With the winter storm looming, NTTA and TxDOT crews are already rolling out their winter weather plans to keep drivers safe. Starting Wednesday, crews for both agencies are beginning the brining treatment on bridges, overpasses, and major corridors. The salt mixture helps delay the ice on the pavement. Ahead of every winter weather event, NTTA and TxDOT teams mobilize to keep ice from bonding to the pavement. NTTA says crews are beginning pretreatment operations as early as today, applying a saltwater brine mixture across key roadways. “We probably have lived here long enough for folks to know that we put a liquid salt mixture down on the roadway, it dries, leaves a salt residue behind, and then when the moisture from the storm comes in, it interacts with it,” said Michael Rey, Media Relations Manager for NTTA. “It keeps it in a liquid form until we can send more troops, if you will, out there to put down a solid mix. So it’s a preventative.” At NTTA storage sites, workers began their arduous work on Wednesday, loading up trucks and applying brine across the entire tollway network. Sensors throughout the roadways will help crews monitor conditions during the storm. “We have 2,000 plus cameras, so we can visually look at roadways too and spot trouble spots. Not necessarily the texture, but you see build-ups in where we might be having issues,” said Rey. TxDOT crews across multiple districts are also gearing up. Teams are monitoring forecasts closely and plan to pretreat the highest‑priority routes first, especially bridges and overpasses, which are known to freeze before main lanes. Officials say the Fort Worth District has approx 250 pieces of equipment that they can use during winter weather events, and around 350 employees who will work in 12-hour shifts around the clock. Equipment such as plows and spreaders will also be staged across North Texas, ready to respond once temperatures plummet. While road treatment continues now through the weekend, TxDOT is reminding drivers to stay at least 200 feet behind treatment trucks. When the winter weather arrives, slow down on potentially icy surfaces and avoid unnecessary travel when conditions become hazardous. “Our goal is always to keep one lane passable and then constantly improve as the system goes on,” said Rey. “If you’re going to get out, you simply cannot expect a good roadway. I mean, we’re just fighting Mother Nature, right? We’re doing everything we can. We’ll go for as many hours as it takes. We’ll use as much material as it takes. But we can’t make it like a roadway in August. It’s just not possible.” Early forecasts show the region could see roughly 90 consecutive hours of below‑freezing weather. While significant, it’s far less than the 2021 winter storm, when North Texas endured 215 hours — nearly nine straight days — of subfreezing temperatures. As the storm approaches, state transportation leaders say the most important thing drivers can do is stay informed. Before you head out, check DriveTexas.org for real‑time TXDOT road conditions, closures, and travel updates throughout the duration of the winter weather. “If you do have to get out and you think it’s a good idea, then just adjust accordingly. You’ll have to go slow,” said Rey. “It only makes sense. I mean, it’s a 50-50 deal. We’ll do what we can. We need drivers to do what they can.” This story uses functionality that may not work in our app. Click here to open the story in your web browser.

After weeks of speculation, former NBC Sports sideline reporter Michele Tafoya has officially thrown her hat into the political ring. Tafoya has filed to run as a Republican with lofty political goals in mind, launching a campaign to run for the United States Senate. Minnesota will have a vacancy in the upper chamber of Congress Read more... The post Michele Tafoya connects sideline reporting to Senate bid in campaign launch video appeared first on Awful Announcing.