Crews Get Ready To Roll Ahead Of Snowfall

By: Chris Hoffman and Bryant Reed/KDKA-TV

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - Road crews are preparing for another winter blast.

Crews will not be pretreating the roads but they said nature helped them Friday with the sun and warmer temperatures. They hope this prevents some of the snow from sticking.

Allegheny County Public Works says they'll be on standby to take care of the roads as nasty weather is expected Friday night and into Saturday morning.

"We're prepared. We'll have 34 trucks out and they'll be out until all of the Allegheny County roads are cleared," said Public Works Director Stephen Shanley.

Shanley urged everybody to be extra careful if they have to go out.

"We encourage them to plan their trip. There could be snow accumulation on the road, especially with the wind. We're expecting 10 to 20 mph winds, so the wind chill could freeze up bridges and roads, so take your time and plan accordingly," said Shanley.

Shanley said he understands everybody wants their roads to be cleared as quickly as possible but asks for patience as it takes crews hours to get to every road.

"We do have to restock with salt for our trucks and an average restocking takes two to three hours, so depends on how far they're at. So be patient. Depending on how heavy it's coming, it takes them some time to get back to the district to reload the salt," he said.

WATCH: KDKA's Bryant Reed reports

Pittsburgh Public Works crews will start Friday night. They plan to have 70 trucks out during the day on Saturday. The challenge is with the snow coming overnight.

"I think that everyone needs to be aware that they're probably not going to wake up to their street being plowed," Acting Public Works Director Chris Hornstein said.

Hornstein said trucks will take their normal routes overnight and just before parade time, some will help clean up the route.

"Our hope is the parade-goers will be here and it will be as safe as we can make it for them. Our crews will be out in the city streets and in the neighborhoods working those areas," Hornstein said.

The city has about six new trucks and six new rentals. They will go where needed, but won't show up on plow tracked.

PennDOT said they will have 70 trucks around Allegheny County. Crews will be out through midnight Saturday.

"That initial first snow is not going to stick, and it's going to melt and it's going to take a little while to start sticking," PennDOT Allegheny County Maintenance Manager Ben DeVore said.

PennDOT said the HOV lane will be closing because of the storm. It will close two hours after the Penguins game ends.

PennDOT also has restrictions planned for several roadways. An up-to-date list of restrictions can be found here.

Every road crew advised this: if you are out tomorrow, give yourself extra time to get to your destination.

If you want to find out who takes care of your roads and how soon the snow will be off your street, you can find how to do that, here.