Benton County Road Department crews were out working Monday morning, with the county roads mostly clear with some patchy spots of ice remaining, according to Terry Nalley, administrator of public services.
“We’re doing pretty good,” Nalley said. “Out on the west side of the county we’ve got asphalt showing on most of our roads. In the Bentonville area it’s not quite as good, but we’re still pretty good. On the east side we’ve still got some slick spots on hills and shaded areas.”
Nalley said the county was still spreading sand and salt and scraping ice where needed. He said the main concern Monday morning was that melting ice and snow will re-freeze once the sun sets.
“With the temperatures being what they are, and my truck says right now it’s zero, it may actually freeze on us,” he said Monday morning. “We’re hoping to get enough sand and salt down to take care of the slick spots. If the sun helps melt off some of it I expect by tomorrow 90 percent of our stuff should be good to go.”
One county dump truck turned on its side after sliding off the roadway Sunday, with the driver suffering some “bumps and bruises” but otherwise the county was handling the cold, Nalley said. The trucks and graders are all heated and the only time the crews are exposed to the cold temperatures is when they are loading salt, Nalley said.
"They have to be outside when they’re loading salt because we’re still using bags," Nalley said. "We haven’t been able to buy salt in bulk. We’re hoping to be able to buy in bulk and take care of that. There’s maybe five minutes when they have to be out there, then they get to get back inside.”
The cold was affecting some of the equipment, Nalley said.
“We’ve got five motor graders that have ‘gelled up,’” he said. “The fuel has turned to gel and they won’t start. Our mechanics are working on them right now trying to get them started.”
Bentonville
Streets had some stretches of clear spots, but most of them were still layered with snow and ice, city Street Manager Tony Davis said mid morning Monday.
Until the negative wind chill factors disappear, it will be hard for the ice to melt naturally, he said.
Street Department crews started laying sand and salt on the roads at 5 a.m. Sunday and are working in 12-hour shifts to continue to work on the roads, Davis said.
“The salt doesn’t work below 20 degrees, so until we get some warmer temperatures and direct sunlight, it will be a slow process,” he said.
The extra cold temperatures haven’t caused equipment problems so far, but they do lengthen the process of getting the roads back to normal, Davis said.
“Everyone just needs to go slow and steady and be patient,” he said.
Rogers
“We are doing everything possible with the temperatures as low as they are,” said Frankie Guyll, street supervisor for the city. “The roads are passable, but very slick.”
Guyll said crews put gravel, salt and magnesium chloride over every bridge and main road in the city.
Crews began to tackle the snowy and icy roads at 5 a.m. Sunday. Every main road was graded, Guyll said.
“It’s just impossible to chip that ice off,” Guyll said.
Guyll said he hopes if the temperatures reach above 40 degrees Tuesday that the roads will be cleared by the afternoon.
“I’m getting tired of this winter,” Guyll said. “Right now we have thrown every thing at Old Man Winter and it seems to be winning.”
No streets were closed in the city on Monday, but police spokesman Keith Foster said police responded to about 30 wrecks between Sunday afternoon and Monday morning. Roads were slick, and drivers struggled to keep cars from sliding into ditches, into poles or into other cars. Police reported more accidents overnight Sunday than during the first day of the previous winter storm in December.