ODOT Urges Caution in Winter Weather

BEND, OR -- With winter driving conditions and a holiday weekend ahead, the Oregon Department of Transportation is urging drivers to take it easy. ODOT's Rex Holloway tells KBND News, "We’ve got crews that are on 24/7, so they’re out monitoring the road conditions. And we’ve got sensors that they can take a look at, so they can go out and pre-treat the highways. Or, if we find out that we have some places that are slick, we’ll go out and sand those sections of the highway."

But, Holloway says it's important for drivers to take proper precautions, "Plan ahead, look at the road conditions, go to Tripcheck and check out the cameras, take extra food, water and clothing, make sure you have a full tank of gas before you take off. Just take a little bit more time taking care of yourselves and we’ll take care of the highways."

Drivers should be especially careful around construction projects, like new roundabouts. "For the first year, we really don’t want to be putting de-icer on concrete, basically. And so, that Murphy Road extension too, we’re not going to be putting – or, I should say the city won’t be putting de-icer on that because of the concerns on the first year. So, they’ll have to use some other sort of way, whether it’s cinders or gravel or something to keep those roads from being too slick."

Central Oregon's Winter Storm Warning has been extended to 7 a.m., Wednesday.

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ODOT Urges Caution in Winter Weather

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