Danville Public Works crews are continuing to clear residential streets – a process that should be completed by the end of the day.
“We began working the residential areas in the early hours of the morning,” Public Works Director Rick Drazenovich said. “The crews continue to work the residential areas, and we expect to get through them by the end of the shift.”
Drazenovich said crews will be on duty tonight to manage bridges and icy roads.
Sunny skies are forecast today, and temperatures will reach 48 degrees. Tonight, skies will remain clear, with overnight lows falling to 25 degrees, according to the National Weather Service in Blacksburg.
Those conditions could make travel hazardous on Tuesday morning as melted snow from Monday will refreeze overnight.
Tuesday’s forecast calls for most sunny skies and a high of 55 degrees.
Danville received an accumulation Sunday of three inches of snowfall, according to the National Weather Service.
City road crews, however, were able to get ahead of the storm because it began during the afternoon when temperatures were still in the 30s.
“The most difficult snow storms are when it comes down and we have a short amount of time to plow it before it freezes and stays there,” Drazenovich said. “In this case, the temperatures were in the 30s when the storm hit and stayed there. That means the salt is working well, keeping the snow from freezing to the road. That makes it easier to plow down to the road surface.”
Crews began spreading brine, which is a mixture of water and salt, during the mid-morning hours on Sunday. The water in the brine evaporates, leaving the salt behind on the road. The salt breaks the bond between the snow and the roadway, and it therefore helps prevent the snow from freezing onto roads and bridges.
When the snowfall began accumulating, the crews began plowing the primary roads and collector streets. The snow storm ended around midnight, allowing the crews to finish clearing the main routes and then move into the residential streets.
