BALDWIN COUNTY, Ala. (WKRG) — Travel during winter weather will be a big concern, especially Tuesday night into Wednesday morning. Road crews for the state and Baldwin County have been busy with a pre-emptive strike before the ice and snow arrive.

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Potassium acetate, a liquid de-icer, is being spread ahead of the storm on state bridges and overpasses in preparation for what could be a historic winter event.

“That should help with traction and also should help with deicing, basically melting, that snow if it becomes ice at some point,” said Alabama Department of Transportation spokesman James Gordon.

ALDOT crews started pre-treating bridges on state roads and interstates on Sunday.

“It does help melt that ice and keep ice from forming in some cases,” said Gordon.

Baldwin County highway crews have also been busy sanding almost 200 bridges throughout the county ahead of the storm.

Dump trucks full of sand are on standby, pre-positioned around the county if needed during the storm.

Electronic road signs are also up along major thoroughfares warning of the potential danger.

This storm is being compared to the ice storm of 2014, which saw a record number of wrecks. While this is expected to be more of a snow event, travel can be risky when it involves snow and ice in the Deep South.

“If you don’t need to be on the road, don’t get on the road,” said Gordon. “Especially in the evening hours of Tuesday and those morning hours of Wednesday.”

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Anything that can be done ahead of time could help keep roadways open, but the best thing to do is stay off the roads.

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