Manteo – North Carolina Department of
Transportation road crews armed with 170 pieces of equipment made significant
progress in clearing Division 1 primary roadways of snow and ice this weekend.
As of Sunday afternoon, the vast majority of primary roads in the division are
clear with possible icy spots. However, shaded areas and secondary roads remain
treacherous. Forecasted warmer temperatures Monday are expected to greatly speed
recovery in those areas.
“The big thaw is coming,” said Division One Engineer Jerry
Jennings. “I think people will see rapid improvement on secondary and
neighborhood roads once the weather begins cooperating with us tomorrow.”
All told, 380 people manned 170 pieces of equipment across Division
1, including contractors and NCDOT crews from the Greensboro and Asheville
areas. NCDOT's first priority is to clear interstates and four-lane divided primary
routes (N.C. and U.S. routes) that are essential to the movement of intrastate
and regional traffic. After these roads are clear, the priority moves to
clearing lower-volume primary roads, high-volume secondary roads, lower-volume
secondary roads and then subdivision streets.
Motorists are still urged to stay off the roads if at all possible,
and to drive slowly with extreme caution if they must travel.