CINCINNATI — It’s the calm before the storm for Ohio Department of Transportation workers. Crews are preparing to tackle winter weather Thursday.
“It’s kind of fun to me,” said Cincinnati ODOT employee Milan Lanier. “I like it. I love snow and ice.”
“I don’t get nervous actually,” he said. “I use it as a little game, it’s kind of how we'll figure out to get this cleared off in the fastest amount of time. It’s a challenge to me.”
Before clearing snow, crews come up with a game plan.
“We come in. We talk about it,” he said. “We talk about who's going to be on what route.”
Wednesday, Lanier drove his route looking for new construction and lane closures that could impact his work Thursday. Inside his truck, he is able to plow snow and drop salt on the roads.
“The main thing is we want to take care of the public,” Lanier said. “We want to get these roads open so we can have people get home safely.”
Earlier this week, some drivers in Virginia were stranded for hours after downed trees and disabled vehicles along Interstate 95.
Lanier said it’s unlikely something like that will happen locally.
“It could, but us here at ODOT, we stay up on it so we try not to let nothing happen like that,” he said.
Lanier said anyone who doesn’t need to leave home during winter weather should not.
For those who must drive, there are things to remember to stay safe:
“You want to give yourself plenty of time, plenty of space,” said David Berk, the owner and manager of Faith Driving School. “Take your speed down 10, 15 miles per hour.”
Consider keeping an emergency kit in your car too, including food, water, blankets, jumper cables and flare guns.
Lanier’s confident crews can handle whatever the weather brings.
“We are going to win the war, the snow and ice war,” he said.
A Winter Weather Advisory has been issued for some counties for Thursday's snow. Here's the latest forecast for our incoming snow.
