Road and street departments gear up for Thanksgiving storm

The Idaho Falls Street Department is gearing up for the upcoming storm by mixing three buckets of sand with one bucket of salt to spread on the streets. Street department officials say they don’t expect to need the plows, but they have the sanding trucks ready to go to keep things from getting too slippery.

In Rigby, the Idaho Transportation Department has stockpiled material to treat the roads. The have brine, salt and cinder to use, depending on conditions.

ITD snowplow driver Reagan Hansen is ready. His assignment is Highway 48 from Roberts to Ririe.

Hansen’s truck can pretreat the roads with brine to help keep the ice from bonding to the road surface. It also spreads salt and plows the snow. It takes several four or five passes for Hansen to clear all the lanes. His advice for drivers.

“I’d say keep a safe distance,” Hanse said. “Give us some room. I’d say stay back a couple hundred feet behind a snowplow minimum. We try to take a lot of pride in what we do. Hopefully, people will appreciate the job we’re trying to do.”

While the weather may be hard to predict, one thing’s for sure – cities, the counties and the state will be scrambling this weekend to try to keep the roads safe and clear.