With winter weather forecast, limit travel through Friday night

The Missouri Department of Transportation advises motorists to limit travel beginning Friday and throughout the weekend as a series of winter storms will impact roads across the state.

“For your safety and the safety of our crews, we ask everyone to avoid unnecessary travel once the storm begins,” said Becky Allmeroth, MoDOT State Maintenance Engineer / Chief Safety and Operations Officer. “If you don’t have to travel, please stay off the roads.”

According to the National Weather Service, this storm will bring snow to much of the state beginning Friday morning and continuing through the night. With this system, there will also be sleet and freezing rain. There is also the possibility of a light glazing of ice in the southern part of the state. A second round of snow is forecast for Saturday.

How MoDOT prioritizes plowing efforts:
• MoDOT’s first priority is to return interstates and major roads to mostly clear driving conditions as soon as possible after a storm ends.

• MoDOT prioritizes the routes for plowing from highest volume roads to the lowest volume. Interstates are always first.

• All the remaining less-traveled roads will be plowed to allow for two-way traffic concentrating on hills, curves and intersections. These lower-volume roads will likely remain somewhat snow covered until the higher-volume roads are mostly clear.

• After a storm ends, crews continue to work on roads on a 24-hour response until these objective are met, monitoring slick spots overnight.

“To maximize our resources, MoDOT’s maintenance crews are deployed wherever they’re needed. If a winter storm hits one part of the state, crews from less-affected areas are ready to go,” Allmeroth said.

Current road conditions are posted on MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map at http://traveler.modot.org/map/ The map is also available as an app on your mobile device through Android Google Play and Apple iTunes, search MoDOT Traveler Information.

MoDOT also provides road condition information through its Customer Service Center. Dial 888-ASK-MODOT (888-275-6636) to speak with a customer service representative 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.