DOT To Treat Icy Roads For Monday Commute

Temperatures are rising above freezing in many parts of the Charlotte area, which is improving road conditions, but the situation will decline rapidly as night falls and temperatures return to the teens.

Police and road crews continue to warn drivers to stay off the roads unless it was absolutely necessary they go out. Charlotte-Mecklenburg police said drivers appear to be heeding the warning -- they only responded to 11 accidents from 9 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday.

In Charlotte, a limited number of road crews worked to plow and salt the roads overnight. Mike Campbell at the North Carolina Department of Transportation said the department had to scale back its operations because the ice was so hard and compact that it was breaking plow equipment.

Crews waited until 7 a.m. Sunday to take to the streets again. Campbell said then the plows were more effective with the help of the sunshine.

He said the sun is working with the salt to loosen the ice. About 80 trucks began to plow in earnest at about noon and roads quickly improved.

Campbell said NCDOT officials will meet Monday to evaluate the work they did and determine what they could do better for the next winter storm. He said he thinks the crews did a good job, but sleet and cars compacting the sleet on the roads caused problems.

Sunday night the NCDOT will have 50 trucks plowing and salting the interstates and 45 trucks on secondary roads.

“We'll still have some problems tomorrow. We'll still have some icy areas on the interstate. As well as primary routes,” he said. “Secondary roads will still be in pretty bad shape.”

Eyewitness News crews surveyed the roads in and around Charlotte on Sunday. While the interstates and primary thoroughfares are merely looking slushy, secondary roads are in poor condition. Many shaded neighborhoods streets are completely iced over.

Eyewitness News cameras found many drivers who tried to tackle hills soon decided they would have to find another route or go back home.

Even major roads were so icy before the sun rose that an emergency worker crashed his vehicle on the Davie Avenue bridge on Interstate 77 South at about 6:30 a.m. He radioed for help and said he was stuck upside down after his truck flipped. He was able to extricate himself a short time later.

NCDOT crews went out Saturday morning to plow the interstates and primary roads and apply a new calcium chloride solution with salt brine after snow and sleet from Friday evening into Saturday morning, but more precipitation fell Saturday evening.

Click here to see the latest snow totals.

VIDEO: Cars Struggle on Icy Secondary Roads

VIDEO: Reporter Tours Icy Uptown Charlotte Roads

VIDEO: Roads Remain Icy After Winter Storm

SLIDESHOW:The Snow Is Falling!

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FORECAST: Severe Weather Center 9 On WSOCTV.com

WARNINGS AND WATCHES: County-By-County Listing Of Watches, Warning And Advisories

CLOSINGS & DELAYS: School And Business Closings From Across The Region

By Saturday evening, about two inches of snow had accumulated in the Charlotte area, with eight inches on the ground in Cherryville. Boone had 10 inches accumulated; Huntersville had 5 and Statesville 6 inches. The mountains were the hardest hit, with snow piling up to a foot or more along the high terrain of Watauga, Avery and Ashe counties.

Other areas of the state, including Raleigh and Durham, reported more than 10 inches of snow.

Severe Weather Team 9 predicts any melting on Sunday will be limited. Meteorologist Katie Virtue said the high in the Charlotte area will be 35, but the temperatures will drop again as night falls and water on local roads will likely refreeze Sunday night. Virtue said drivers should be on the lookout for black ice early Monday.

Travel will be dangerous through Sunday thanks to low visibility and slick roads.

CMPD: Don't Call 911

The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department issued a reminder Saturday morning that the 911 system is to be used only for emergency situations such as downed power lines and trees or poles blocking roadways.

The 311 system will be fully staffed over the weekend.

To report power outages, call 1-800-POWERON.

Click here for the latest outage information in your area.