Craighead County, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Crews are continuing to work to clear roads in Northeast Arkansas now that wintry precipitation has moved out of the area.
Craighead County Judge Marvin Day told JRN that county road crews began working to clear roads on Saturday, and they worked “around the clock.” He said crews worked to clear primary roads, which are the most highly trafficked roads in the county.
He added that on Monday, crews were salting and sanding major intersections and working to clear secondary roads. Secondary roads might not have a hard, paved surface, which can make clearing them more difficult, the county judge said.
“We can’t really plow them as much, but let’s say there’s a drift or a high spot, or an area that’s really giving them a lot of trouble, then they can go out and really try to work those areas to get people through them,” Day said. “You can’t scrape them as hard as you can like the paved roads, we just kind of have to, instead of getting it all, we have to kind of spot-check them, I guess you could say.”
A Facebook post from the City of Jonesboro said crews were continuing to focus on main city streets and hospital areas “to aid first responders and service providers in response abilities.” It added that secondary streets would be plowed at areas of concern as time allows.
“On Tuesday [Jan. 27] the department will focus on streets near schools when main thoroughfares have been cleared as much as possible,” the post said. “Residents should continue to use extreme caution on roadways and to only travel when necessary. If you do travel and become stuck, expect lengthy response time from towing companies.”
It asked people to stay tuned to the city’s social media outlets for inclement weather updates.
Dave Parker, head of the Arkansas Department of Transportation’s (ARDOT) Communications Division, told JRN that crews were working on clearing major area interstates and highways, such as I-555.
He said there was at least one passable lane on major interstates, with the goal of having two lanes cleared by day’s end. Crews were putting out ARDOT’s salt brine mixed with beet juice, as well as rock salt, to create a “plowable slush.”
“We think by the end of today, most major roads there will be in decent shape,” Parker said. “Meaning, you can drive, just be careful because tonight, we will have a lot of refreeze. It’s still well below freezing temperature-wise. So, we still got a little ways to go, but it’s getting better.”
Parker said crews will work on secondary roads after addressing major roads. Secondary roads include two-lane highways, for example.
Both Day and Parker said that, even though temperatures will remain below freezing this week, Monday’s sunshine was helping with efforts to clear wintry precipitation. Craighead County and the surrounding area are under an extreme cold warning until noon on Tuesday, Jan. 27.
“What’s really great is that Mother Nature takes care of it all, once you kind of knock it down a little bit,” Day said. “The sunshine we’re having today, even though it’s cold, it’s really thawing it out pretty well today.”
Day said if there was an area workers needed to attend to, rural Craighead County residents could call the county road department at (870) 933-4510.
Both officials said people could get out to drive if necessary, but should exercise caution.
For those needing to drive, drive slower and avoid sudden acceleration, braking, or steering. Increase the distance between yourself and other motorists, and slow down much earlier than normal, especially when approaching bridges, intersections, and entrance and exit ramps.
To check the latest road conditions, check IDriveArkansas.com. To activate the winter weather layer on the IDriveArkansas website or app, click the snowflake icon.
UPDATE: This article was updated Jan. 27 to reflect updates from the City of Jonesboro’s road-clearing efforts, and on Jan. 28 to clarify that the rural Craighead County residents should call the county road department’s number if there was a road to be attended to.
