Montoursville, PA – The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) will be pre-treating major roads in advance of the winter weather forecasted. 

Beginning Sunday morning, January 22, anti-icing trucks may be seen along interstates and other high-volume roads across PennDOT District 3 which includes Bradford, Tioga, Sullivan, Lycoming, Union, Snyder, Northumberland, Columbia, and Montour counties.

Anti-icing involves wetting the highway with salt brine before a storm’s arrival. The solution lowers the freezing point of water and slows or prevents ice from forming a bond with the pavement during the early stages of a storm.

The salt brine is spread from sprayers attached to the brine tank on PennDOT trucks. The trucks have signs on the backs indicating their purpose. The public can track the location of PennDOT plow trucks on www.511PA.com.

While precipitation is falling, PennDOT will have crews treating roadways around the clock, but the department aims to keep the roads passable rather than completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT will continue to treat roadways through the storm until precipitation stops and roads are clear.

With freezing temperatures, roads that look wet may actually be icy, and extra caution is needed when approaching bridges and highway ramps where ice can form without warning. Motorists should leave plenty of space when following a truck that is plowing or spreading winter materials.

While PennDOT recommends not traveling during winter storms, motorists can check conditions on more than 40,000 roadway miles, including color-coded winter conditions on 2,900 miles, by visiting www.511PA.com.  511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras.  

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts. 
 
PennDOT reminds motorists to pack an emergency kit for their vehicles. A basic kit should include phone chargers, non-perishable food, water, blanket, small shovel and warm clothes. When preparing an emergency kit, motorists should take into account special needs of passengers such as baby food, pet supplies or medications and pack accordingly. 
 
PennDOT also reminds citizens that downloadable materials, including home and car emergency kit checklists and emergency plan templates, are available at http://www.Ready.PA.gov. Citizens can also find information about getting involved in local emergency response efforts and other volunteer opportunities through the ReadyPA website. 

For more winter driving tips and information on how PennDOT treats winter storms, visit http://www.penndot.gov/winter

Motorists can check conditions on major roadways by visiting www.511PA.com. 511PA, which is free and available 24 hours a day, provides traffic delay warnings, weather forecasts, traffic speed information and access to more than 1,000 traffic cameras. 

511PA is also available through a smartphone application for iPhone and Android devices, by calling 5-1-1, or by following regional Twitter alerts. 

Subscribe to PennDOT news and traffic alerts in Tioga, Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Union, Snyder, Northumberland, Montour and Columbia counties at www.penndot.pa.gov/District3.