Oyster Bay Snow Crews Pretreated Roads To Prevent Black Ice

OYSTER BAY, NY — The Town of Oyster Bay’s Highway Department has pretreated roadways with sand and salt to prevent black ice from forming in preparation of the anticipated snowfall on Sunday, Supervisor Joseph Saladino said.

Town officials wanted to ensure residents on the roads Sunday had safe travels, so the roadways and overpasses were pretreated to help prevent black ice from forming, Saladino said. “Our Snow-Fighting Crew is at the ready to plow when necessary. The Town Department of Public Safety is closely monitoring the storm and has put assets in place to assist residents should the need arise,” he said.

The town has just under 10,000 tons of road salt and sand on hand and its snow-fighting crew includes more than 300 plow/salt trucks, pickups with plows and sanders, pay loaders and other equipment that cover nearly 1,000 lane miles throughout the town, Saladino said.

Highway supervisors monitor snowplows with the assistance of Global-positioning systems to determine when plows are down and where trucks are operating in order to ensure the town is working at full capacity, Saladino said. GPS monitoring also makes the roads safer for residents as quickly and efficiently as possible, while also safeguarding the safety of the snow-fighting crew, he said.

Saladino requested that residents refrain from plowing snow across the road or shoveling snow from their driveway onto shoulders or roadways because it affects the removal efforts. He also requested that residents remove cars and other items like basketball hoops and garbage bins away from the road, and also to follow parking ordinances related to snow removal.

Residents can sign up for emergency notifications or access up-to-date information on closures or changes to town programs at www.oysterbaytown.com. The town’s Public Safety Department by calling (516) 677-5350.