Finally, a Decent Storm

December 13, 2012 - Southwestern Colorado/CDOT Region 5 - Last weekend’s storm was a good start to the holiday season, but left a little to be desired by snow seekers.

This storm, coming from the south, is expected to bring more of the white stuff—in a short amount of time. The forecasts are calling for up to 12 inches of snow in the Durango and surrounding valley area, up to two feet on the mountain passes in the Southern San Juans (Coal Bank and Molas on US 550) and the same for US 160 Wolf Creek Pass, and nearby Cumbres/La Manga passes on SH 17. Monarch Pass is forecasted to receive less snow, as are the Northern San Juan passes of Red Mountain on US 550 and Lizard Head on SH 145.

The Colorado Department of Transportation is again reminding motorists to ready their vehicles and research their travel plans. The majority of the snow in the southwest is expected to fall tomorrow and continue throughout the night. Snow tires are a must—and packing other safety items (listed below) is also imperative.

CDOT crews will begin their 12-hour storm shifts this afternoon, and they will be clearing the way for travelers around the clock until the storm subsides. Still, roads will be snow-packed and icy in areas and motorists need to do their part in readying their vehicles and driving responsibly.

Here is a look at your area CDOT crews in Region 5 (15 counties in SW Colorado, including the San Luis Valley) and their work: The ridge of high pressure over Colorado will flatten over the next two days as a large closed low-pressure system approaches from the southwest. Warm air will continue to move into the state today with increasing amounts of moisture in the upper portion of the atmosphere. Winds will be in the low to moderate range from the west and southwest statewide. Low-level moisture will increase this evening as the closed low moves into California and begins to track across the southwest US. Precipitation, if any, will be limited to the high peaks until Thursday when moist southwest flow moves into the San Juan Mountains. The combination of the closed low and a second system moving in from the north could make for an interesting holiday weekend.

CDOT REGION 5 DURANGO MAINTENANCE SECTION

The entire Durango Maintenance Section (also see individual maintenance areas, below) has 106 maintenance workers and 107 pieces of snow removal and avalanche control equipment. Thirteen trucks are equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks. Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt for providing traction or, at optimum temperatures, sand pre-wetted with liquid deicer for traction and effective ice-melting. Durango maintenance crews take care of 1,750 lane-miles (the combined lengths of each lane on every highway in the region), including five mountain passes. During last winter (2011-2012), Durango maintenance crews plowed 420,008 total lane-miles. Crews spread 1,351,328 gallons of liquid deicers. They also spread 24,945 tons of sand/salt and spent 1,850 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent: $4,126,076.85.

NOTE: Each Maintenance Area detailed below has special crews that additional work and/or avalanche control missions (in coordination with the Colorado Avalanche Information Center) on four mountain passes: US 550 Coal Bank, Molas and Red Mountain passes and SH 145 Lizard Head Pass (US 160 Wolf Creek Pass is maintained by Alamosa crews). Crews from both Maintenance Sections—Durango and Alamosa—assist one another with man-power and equipment during storms, as necessary.

Durango Maintenance (King) Area

The Durango Maintenance Area has 6 patrols, located in: Pagosa Springs, Bayfield, Ignacio, Durango, Hesperus and Rockwood. The Durango Maintenance Area has 43 maintenance workers and 35 pieces of snow removal and avalanche equipment (including 22 snowplows, 12 of which are equipped with MDSS). Eleven trucks are equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks. Other plow trucks carry sand/salt and for providing traction. Durango maintenance crews take care of 510.36 lane-miles. During last winter, Durango maintenance crews plowed 163,001 total lane-miles. As well, crews sprayed 902,456 gallons of liquid deicer, spread 7,667 tons of sand/salt and spent 77 hours on avalanche control missions.

Cortez Maintenance (John) Area

The Cortez Maintenance Area includes patrols in: Dove Creek, Cortez, Mancos, Dolores, Rico and Telluride. The Cortez Area has 31 maintenance workers and 37 pieces of snow removal and avalanche equipment (including 23 snowplows, 6 of which are equipped with MDSS). Cortez maintenance crews take care of 650.8 lane-miles. During last winter, Cortez maintenance crews plowed 133,975.62 total lane-miles. As well, crews sprayed 306,899 gallons of liquid deicer; spread 6,284.25 tons of sand/salt, and spent 143 hours on avalanche control missions.

Ridgway Maintenance (Mary) Area

The Ridgway Maintenance Area includes patrols in: Cascade, Silverton, Ouray, Ridgway, Norwood, Nucla and Paradox. The Area has 33 maintenance workers and 35 pieces of snow and avalanche removal equipment (including 19 snowplows, 2 of which are equipped with MDSS). One truck is equipped with a liquid deicer applicator tank. Other plow trucks carry sand/salt for providing traction. Ridgway maintenance crews take care of 588.84 lane-miles. During last winter, Ridgway maintenance crews plowed 123,032.16 total lane-miles. Crews sprayed 141,973.5 gallons of liquid deicer, spread 10,995 tons of sand/salt and spent 1,630 hours on avalanche control missions.

CDOT REGION 5 ALAMOSA MAINTENANCE SECTION

The entire Alamosa Maintenance Section includes Alamosa, Archuleta, Chaffee, Conejos, Costilla, Fremont, Gunnison, Park, Rio Grande, Saguache, Huerfano, and east Mineral counties. The Alamosa maintenance area has some 97 maintenance workers and about 117 pieces of snow removal and avalanche equipment (including 64 snowplows, 9 of which are equipped with MDSS). Nine trucks are equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks. Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt and ice slicer (a solid salt product) for providing traction and de-icing. Alamosa maintenance crews take care of 1,727 lane-miles (the combined lengths of each lane on every highway in the region), including eight mountain passes. During last winter, Alamosa maintenance crews plowed 317,836 total lane-miles. As well, crews sprayed 56,660 gallons of liquid deicer; spread 12,364 tons of sand/salt; spent 808.5 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent: $2,428,204.

North Area

The North Maintenance Area includes patrols in: Poncha Springs, Maysville, Sargents, Hartsel, Fairplay and Johnson Village (work includes US 285 Poncha Pass, US 24 Trout Creek Pass and US 50 Monarch Pass). The Area has 41 maintenance workers including temporary employees and 47 pieces of snow and avalanche removal equipment (including 26 snowplows, 7 of which are equipped with MDSS). There are two trucks equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks and 5 combo units (that also carry sand/salt). Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt and ice slicer alone for providing traction. North area maintenance crews take care of 569 lane-miles including three mountain passes. During last winter, north area maintenance crews plowed 191,132 total lane miles. As well, crews sprayed 79,001 gallons of liquid deicer, spread 7,751 tons of sand/salt and slicer, and spent 2,636 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent: $956,729

West Area

The West Maintenance Area has patrols in: Monte Vista, South Fork, Saguache, Pagosa Springs, and Creede (work includes US 160 Wolf Creek Pass and SH 114 Cochatopa/North Pass). The Area has 36 maintenance workers including temporary employees and 36 pieces of snow and avalanche removal equipment (including 19 snowplows, 0 of which are equipped with MDSS). Three trucks are equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks. Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt and ice slicer (a solid salt product) for providing traction. West area maintenance crews take care of 550 lane-miles including two mountain passes. During last winter, West Area maintenance crews plowed more than 141,368. As well, crews sprayed 1,900 gallons of liquid deicer; spread 3,204 tons of sand/salt and ice slicer; and spent 346.5 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent: $619,205

East Area

The East Maintenance Area includes patrols in: Fort Garland, US 160 La Veta Pass, Alamosa, Antonito, and SH 17 La Manga Pass (work also includes SH 17 Cumbres Pass). The Area has 30 maintenance workers including temporary employees and 32 pieces of snow and avalanche removal equipment (including 19 snowplows, 6 of which are equipped with MDSS). Five trucks are equipped with liquid deicer applicator tanks. Other plow trucks will carry sand/salt and ice slicer for providing traction. East area maintenance crews take care of 608 lane-miles including three mountain passes. During last winter, East area maintenance crews plowed 108,122. As well, crews sprayed 10,496 gallons of liquid deicer, spread 3,700 tons of sand/salt and slicer, and spent 217 hours on avalanche control missions. Total dollars spent: $692,550.

WINTER TRAVEL TIPS:

  1. Plan your trip! Log on to CDOT’s Winter Driving web page at: http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/winter-driving for tips, road conditions, information on CDOT’s 14-hour snow plow coverage and more; or call 511 for statewide road conditions. Also, sign up for FREE wireless text and/or e-mail updates on road conditions/closures—see the green phone icon in the upper right-hand corner of our web site home page. Motorists can also log onto the National Weather Service’s site at http://weather.gov/.
  2. Always keep the top half of your gas tank full. It can give you better traction and gives you a bigger margin of error if you get stuck and have to keep the engine running periodically to keep warm.
  3. If you are stuck in a serious storm do not leave your car. Run the engine periodically and wait for help.
  4. Carry blankets, water, a flashlight, a shovel, some nutrition bars or other food for sustenance. Winterize your vehicle's safety kit by including extra blankets, sand to help gain traction in the event you become stuck on ice or snow, jumper cables, an ice scraper and lock de-icer.
  5. Remember that 4-wheel drive does not mean 4-wheel stop. A 4-wheel drive vehicle will not stop any better in icy conditions, especially if you have inadequate snow tires.
  6. Be sure of your route. Don't go exploring in the back-country without some local knowledge, especially during a storm or when one is bearing down anywhere near your location.
  7. Be sure you have good tires. The Colorado State Patrol recommends at least 1/8 of an inch tread depth. All season radials on a front-wheel-drive passenger vehicle are adequate for most situations; install them on all four tires. Four snow tires on most rear-wheel drive vehicles are usually adequate. Chain restrictions in Colorado are most often put into effect for commercial vehicles (semi-trailer trucks) and do not usually affect passenger vehicles (please see information on Colorado’s chain law at http://www.coloradodot.info/travel/commercial-vehicles/colorado-chain-law.url).
  8. In poor visibility or even whiteout conditions, don't drive faster than you can see ahead. High speeds in poor or no visibility can lead to large chain reaction accidents. Remember you can't see around mountain curves and corners, either.
  9. In addition to these winter driving tips, CDOT reminds all motorists to respect winter weather, conduct a pre-trip inspection of your vehicle, leave extra space between your automobile and others on the road, and never drink and drive.
  10. Always buckle up!

**Snow Removal Products:

Magnesium Chloride: In solutions that utilize up to 30 percent magnesium chloride, this product is effective for pavement surface temperatures down to 16 degrees Fahrenheit .

Cold Temperature Modified Magnesium Chloride: In solutions up to 27 percent magnesium chloride, this product is used when surface temperatures fall below approximately 15 degrees Fahrenheit. These products have a corn-processed byproduct additive that greatly lowers the freezing point of magnesium chloride.

Ice Slicer: This is a solid product made up of mainly sodium chloride; it also contains small amounts of other materials making it more effective at lower temperatures than pure sodium chloride.