Riverhead Highway Department crews have been out plowing and applying salt and sand to local roads since early this morning and the roads are in “pretty decent shape,” Highway Superintendent George Woodson said this morning.
“We’re doing all right and making good progress,” Woodson said. After a few inches of snow accumulation overnight, warmer air brought a change to sleet and then rain around daybreak.
“It may rain heavily later so we’re trying to get all the slush off the road, getting the heavy stuff out of the way,” Woodson said in a phone interview from a plow truck.
The National Weather Service says precipitation will change back to a mix of snow, sleet and rain this afternoon. A winter weather advisory has been issued for eastern Suffolk and remains in effect until 6 p.m.
“As always, use extra caution in this kind of weather. Drive for the conditions of the road,” Woodson said. “Just slow down.”
The highway superintendent said the department’s salt supplies are good. He stocked up with extra salt last year because he’d heard rumors of an impending salt shortage, he said.
“I wasn’t taking any chances,” Woodson said.
The new salt and sand storage structures, originally purchased in 2012 and destroyed by Superstorm Sandy that fall, are holding up well, he said. The replacement covers were installed by a local contractor who comes by every couple of months to inspect them and make sure everything’s good, Woodson said.
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