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The North Carolina Department of Transportation is advising the public to be careful if they must drive Saturday night and Sunday morning as bitter cold temperatures will create slick, icy roads and bridges across parts of the state.

More than 1,800 NCDOT crews and contractors worked through the night Friday and into the morning Saturday to apply salt and sand to roads as snowfall moved across the state. On Saturday, NCDOT crews continued their work to clear roads impacted by the overnight storm. In addition to their pre-treatment efforts, NCDOT crews and contractors applied 6,200 tons of salt, 538 tons of salt and sand mixture and another 412,000 gallons of brine to de-ice roads.

Staff in NCDOT’s highway divisions were focused Saturday on clearing primary routes first, before moving to secondary routes either later today or tomorrow. NCDOT field crews reported Saturday morning that almost all interstates were clear and most primary and secondary routes were clear but still had some icy spots, particularly in shaded areas and elevated surfaces.

Most crews were close to completing road clearing efforts Saturday and planned to head home to rest before returning Saturday night to work on trouble spots where roads could refreeze. Transportation officials and the National Weather Service warn that dangerous travel could continue into Sunday morning as temperatures in the teens and 20s overnight coupled with heavy winds could keep ice on some road surfaces.

“Like all industries, NCDOT has been impacted by COVID-19 and staffing shortages. Transportation officials ask that people be patient,” stated a press release from NCDOT. “Crews may not be able to respond as quickly as we have in the past but will work through the weekend to get roads cleared as quickly as possible.”

For real-time travel information, visit DriveNC.gov or follow NCDOT on social media.

On the coast, many of the state’s ferry routes were temporarily suspended Saturday due to the heavy winds. Stay tuned to updates on ferries on NCDOT social media channels.

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