MAUMEE, Ohio — As the season’s first major winter storm approaches , the Ohio Department of Transportation says its crews are already at work laying down brine and preparing plows for long shifts on the roads.

“When we see that there’s a storm coming in, we do a lot of pre-treatment that’s often done with brine, which is a salt and water mixture,” said Kelsie Hoagland, Ohio Department of Transportation Public Information Officer. “We’ve already done the pre-treatment. We hit our bridge decks because the bridges ice first, and then we just wait for the snow to come in.”

Crews will move into 12-hour shifts once the storm begins, using plows, salt and brine as needed to limit ice buildup.

While pretreatment can’t stop snow from accumulating, Hoagland said it creates a critical first line

See Full Page