Local news- Press Release
Murfreesboro Tennessee - City prepared for winter ice and snow in 2024 29 December 2023 ( news )
Murfreesboro , state Tennessee ( By Press Release office)
Dec 29,2023
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Winter weather , whether a wintry mix of sleet and ice , or inches of snowfall , is typically inevitable in Middle Tennessee . City Public Works crews are ready to respond to extreme weather patterns .
In
Mid - February 2021 , for example , the Middle Tennessee area experienced snowfall and the fifth longest period of below freezing temperatures for over seven days from Feb . 12 - 18 , 2021 . For the outstanding road crews who work for the City of Murfreesboro , it just means getting down to work .
City Street crews
will once again by ready to work long hours under challenging conditions by clearing streets during the winter weather season . The crews are also ready to apply salt brine to major corridors to pretreat City streets ahead of ice and snow .
“As always , the City of Murfreesboro Street Department takes a pro - active approach by applying salt brine to the roads before ice and snow begins hitting the roadway , ” said Public Works Executive Director Raymond Hillis . “Our team will once again be ready to proactively prepare streets and remove ice and snow on major routes in 2024 . ”
Motorists are urged to “Take It Slow” in ice and snow . If you are involved in a minor vehicle crash without injuries , the Murfreesboro Police Department asks you to move your vehicle out of the roadway , if possible , to avoid secondary crashes . The non - emergency number for the MPD is 615 - 893 - 1311 .
Preparing for winter weather begins before any ice or snow hits the ground . A salt brine system pretreats City streets . Three trucks , a brine - making and brine delivery system , will apply brine prior to snowfall , which is more effective than rock salt because brine starts working immediately .
The snow removal program is set up on a series of routes—six major routes assigned to six trucks that cover State routes and major City streets; those are priority routes . Six smaller trucks cover critical areas such as Ascension St . Thomas Rutherford Hospital on Medical Center Pkwy . , steep grades , and other problem areas that require attention . The City Street Department currently has a total stockpile of 1 , 500 tons of salt with snowplows and trucks ready for the winter season .
The City Street Department provides ice and snow removal on State Routes within City limits under contract to TDOT . If motorists see hazardous street conditions that need attention , please call 615 - 893 - 4380 . Subdivision City streets are typically not salted or plowed due to limited equipment and personnel resources as crews focus on primary thoroughfares .
The City deploys sixty ( 60 ) employees for snow and ice removal . These crews stand ready to mobilize when winter weather hits . During periods of ice and snowstorms , six dump trucks equipped with snowplows and salt spreaders are used to clear the roads . The Street Department , which is responsible for keeping City Streets clear of ice and snow , maintains a materials storage yard with a stockpile of salt each year .
Salt is maintained at the City’s Public Works Facility located at 4765 Florence and at the Public Works Facility on West Main Street . For brine , the salt is added to a bin where water is mixed in and the rock salt slowly liquefies . The City’s brine system can produce up to two - hundred gallons of brine per minute or 12 , 000 gallons an hour . Once the brine is properly mixed , it is transferred to a 10 , 000 - gallon brine tank to be stored . The combination of brine and rock salt applied to streets performs more effectively than salt alone .
The City’s winter weather budget
is approximately $150 , 000 and includes salt , overtime for employees , and equipment maintenance . Salt is applied to City streets once snow has started to accumulate .
The Tennessee Department of Transportation ( TDOT ) is responsible for maintaining and clearing interstates and state routes , including I - 24 and I - 840 in Rutherford County .
For information on the Murfreesboro
Streets Department , contact
Public Works Executive Director
Raymond Hillis at 615 - 893 - 4380 or
rhillis@murfreesborotn . gov
.
For City News online , visit
www . Murfreesborotn . gov
.
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