Public Works in Little Rock is getting the city ready for snowfall

Little Rock, Arkansas – Cities throughout the state are packing up their supplies of sand and salt in anticipation of the next winter weather.

The city of Little Rock began preparing for winter weather in October, but according to Public Works operations manager Eric Petty, they have been stepping up their efforts in recent days to keep roads safe.

“We operate 12-hour shifts, including day and night shifts,” Petty stated. “In addition to the two motor graders we are operating, we have 17 trucks with plows, for a total of 19 plows.”
Twelve of the big vehicles, according to Petty, are utilized on busier streets like University and Kavanaugh.

Petty added, “We also have five of the smaller trucks, which are smaller 1 ton trucks that are more accessible for getting around hospital entrances and police station fire stations.”

When the time comes, they will drive those smaller trucks through the local streets and distribute a mixture of salt and sand across the city.

All of our buildings are filled with our salt and sand material. They’re all booked up,” Petty remarked. “We are prepared for the occasion.”

According to Petty, in order to ensure that the sand and salt combination hasn’t shifted before the weather strikes, it is usually placed onto roads many hours before it is predicted to snow.