BENNETTSVILLE, SC (WBTW) – The Pee Dee and Border Belt may see about one inch of snow Wednesday. NCDOT officials say four trucks sprayed brine or salt water onto the main highways in Scotland county starting early Tuesday morning.
If about one inch of snow falls Wednesday morning, crews with snow plows and rock salt trucks will be ready to hit the roads.
“We will start salting and snow scraping the main roads that have the most traffic first that are most vital to moving commerce and people. Then we will keep working around the clock until we can get all of the rest of the roads, which includes the secondary roads,” said Andrew Barksdale, the NCDOT Communications officer for divisions four, six and eight.
The Marlboro County SCDOT Assistant Resident maintenance engineer Charles Stubbs says crews are focused on bridges. Stubbs says crews started spraying brine on three of the main highways in Marlboro County; US 1, US 15, and SC 34.
SCDOT will begin working 12-hour shifts at 7 a.m. Wednesday morning. Marlboro County Administrator, Ron Munnerlyn says the county learned a lot from the winter storm about two weeks ago.
“It was a little more than we thought,” said Munnerlyn. “Hopefully we won’t have the level that we had last time but we try to learn a little every time and do it better.”
If a lot of snow falls and sticks to the roads, the County will partner with SCDOT to make sure main highways are cleared first.
“It’s really important for us now because we don’t have a hospital in the county. So we have to have a clear path to hospitals in Scotland County and Cheraw (Chesterfield County),” explained Munnerlyn. “With the hurricane and this, we really have to pay attention to those paths to the hospital.”
The county is monitoring the weather and crews plan to put out salt on walkways and steps.
“We’d rather be over prepared than under prepared,” said Munnerlyn. Every week Nancy Brown and Laverne McCrae give out pamphlets as Jehovah’s Witness but depending on how much it snows this Wednesday, the duo may have to stay home.
“If it is really bad, we probably won’t be out tomorrow. Then again, we might, it just all depends,” said McCrae. Brown says she made soup for the cold weather. McCrae plans to prepare to be snowed in.
“I probably buy some water. Maybe run some in the tub. Last time I sprinkled some salt on my steps,” explained McCrae.