ST. LOUIS – It’s once again all hands on deck for local snow management companies and road crews. And this snowstorm brings a different set of challenges.

This system will only bring snow, no sleet or ice like some of our other storms have brought. But the low temperatures will change the response.

“I mean, we’re looking at single digits overnight. Salt is going to be treated so it’s going to have some calcium chloride mixed in to that, just to help it activate a little quicker and really work better in those low temperatures; but still, it’s going to be a challenge,” Shelby Bunge, the business development manager at BSR Services, said.

This snow will be light and fluffy and prone to blowing around.

“So we plow; [if] we blow sidewalks, it’s just going to blow around and cover things back up so that’s going to be a challenge for sure,” Bunge said. “So, there’s just a lot of things that we are going to be working against with this storm. But you know we’re ready for it. This is what we prepare for.”

At BSR Services, Bunge said they’ve spent the day pretreating and they have no issues when it comes to their salt and chemicals supply. Everyone is prepped and ready to go.

“No issues there. No worries at all. So, we’re in a really good spot for that,” Bunge said.

Illinois Department of Transportation District 8 Operations Engineer Joseph Monroe said their preparations are in good shape. They have a good base of chemicals already down but he’s also concerned about the cold temperatures.

“Normally, I’m optimistic that we can overcome what’s there. But -3 [degrees] with the winds and cloudy, we’re in areas where I’m not so sure the chemicals that we have will be overly effective,” Monroe said.

Calcium chloride can do more harm than good by turning the snow into a sheet of ice so they’re going to monitor the conditions very carefully.

“So when the opportunity arises, you know, the motoring public can rest assured, if we have an opportunity to make some improvements, we will, we will unleash everything we have on the storm,” Monroe said.

And he wants drivers to have patience.

“We are taking this storm very seriously. We have all our chemicals ready. We are full. We have the resources to manage it. It just may not be the turnaround that a normal snow in the 20 to 30 degree range would produce,” he said.

And as always, give plows room to work. The men and women operating the plows have put in a lot of hours this winter and this will be another tough week.