SIDNEY — In preparation for the snow that has impacted Shelby County, pre-treatment was done on the roads Wednesday afternoon before snow showers started.
By 7:30 p.m. that evening, the Shelby County Engineer’s Office had 13 trucks on the road in an effort to keep roadways clear.
“We sent some men home to get some rest, and we did have a few trucks out all through the night, and we came back in with a full crew at 4 a.m.,” Shelby County Engineer Bob Geuy said. “They are out right now, and we will be out there until the weather breaks, or we get the roads cleaned up a bit.”
Geuy said a big focus is watching for wind that is expected to come with a cold front and that putting salt down on the roads in those conditions can cause snow to stick to the road.
“We’re kind of monitoring that, but it’s a guessing game with Mother Nature,” Geuy said. “That’s what we’re doing, is just monitoring that very closely.”
Motorists are recommended to slow down and eliminate any distractions in the car, such as cell phones or the radio. According to Geuy, speed and distractions are the common causes of accidents in the current weather conditions.
According to Assistant City Manager Gary Clough, salting was done on main routes, bridge decks, curves along state Route 47 and hills throughout Sidney during the snowfall. City parking lots and city-owned sidewalks also were cleared.
“All we do from now is monitor the weather and see what response is necessary,” Clough said.
Clough also advised motorists to be mindful of ice patches, as snow melts and then re-freezes on streets and sidewalks as temperatures are expected to drop through the weekend.
The Shelby County Sheriff’s Office had four calls regarding vehicles that had veered off the road into a ditch and one accident causing property damage that involved two vehicles.
At 7:40 p.m. an accident involving a jackknifed semi truck at mile marker 101 on southbound I-75 was reported. The driver lost control and crashed into the median cable wires, blocking traffic for two hours until the crash was able to be cleared. The commercial driver was transported to Wilson Health in Sidney.
A secondary crash happened when a driver pulled onto the right shoulder to avoid collision with the semi truck and was side-swiped by another vehicle. No injuries were reported in that accident.
Several local schools across Shelby County also closed due to slick road conditions on Thursday.
