An incoming cold front is forecast to bring the season’s first dose of freezing rain and snow, and Fayetteville and Washington County road crews are preparing for the worst.

The National Weather Service projects up to an inch of rain could fall Thursday, potentially freezing into one-third of an inch of ice, followed by an inch or two of snow Friday. With memories of January 2009’s devastating ice storm in city and county officials’ minds, crews will have new tools to clear streets.

The city has a new truck outfitted with a “belly plow,” which forces the truck’s entire weight downward to crush and remove ice from 450 miles of streets and highways, said Terry Gulley, director of transportation services.

The county Road Department takes over to clear the 1,000 miles of roads outside city limits. Shawn Shrum, the assistant road superintendent, said the department bought several chainsaws to assist the work of its fleet of snow plows, graders and dump trucks.

“You never know until it happens what you need,” Shrum said. Once winter weather begins, he added, “We’re out there, we’re checking roads.”

The past few years have brought their share of severe winter weather. In January 2009 a heavy coating of ice cut power for more than 100,000 people, brought down thousands of acres of trees and caused almost $80 million in damage. Two years later, a record-breaking 2 feet of snow smothered the region.

Both Shrum and Gulley said pre-treatment of streets before the winter weather hits is minimal. The salt usually laid down by Fayetteville for ice could wash away in the expected rain, Gulley said, so there’s little use in putting it down beforehand.

“If it starts getting icy, we’ll put stuff down,” he said. For temperatures below 15 degrees, the city uses a stockpile of sugar beet juice, which has a low freezing point and can be used in combination with salt to break up street ice.

Shrum said he expected the county’s five dump trucks to be outfitted late today or early Thursday to distribute half-inch limestone gravel, or chips, which the county lays down instead of salt to give traction on slick roads while cutting costs.

“With our terrain and the equipment we have, we just feel this works best for us and the county,” Shrum said.

When more than an inch or two of snow falls, city crews would work in staggered shifts to cover all hours of the day, Gulley said. They focus on main arteries, including Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, Wedington Drive and College Avenue, along with streets around hospitals, ambulance bays and fire stations.

Gulley said workers will also focus on hilly areas and streets that normally freeze, such as Township Street, North Street, West Cleveland Street and Gregg Avenue.

As many as 10 trucks could be going at once in the city. The county’s eight snow plows each cover a section of the county.

Shrum and Gulley asked people to call if a main street is impassable or causing problems, though they added crews can’t be everywhere and main streets will remain the priority. Fayetteville transporation can be reached at 479-575-8228, while the Road Department’s number is 479-444-1610.

“We’ll get there as soon as we can,” Gulley said.