CLEVELAND — If you don’t have to be on the roads, it’s probably best to stay home.
Officials with the Ohio Department of Transportation say their teams are ready for the big winter blast that’s set to impact our region from Wednesday into Friday.
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"During winter storms, ODOT strives to keep roads passable to help ensure that emergency services and essential workers can safely reach their destinations," said ODOT Director Jack Marchbanks. “But even with our crews out in full force, roads will likely be snow and ice-covered, and it will take much longer to travel. Once the storm moves out, our crews will be able to make progress toward getting traffic moving at regular speed."
ODOT says their goal is to have the average traffic speed on primary routes back to within 10 mph of the posted speed limit within two hours after the storm ends. For secondary routes, that goal is four hours.
“ODOT forces hit that goal 95 percent of the time last winter,” ODOT officials said.
Crews with ODOT are responsible for plowing and treating more than 43,000 lane miles of state and U.S routes.
As a result of the difficult travel expected during the storm, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is asking drivers to avoid any unnecessary trips so road crews have more room to work.
“For those who must travel, please be safe and take it slow, giving yourself plenty of time to get to your destination,” Gov. DeWine said.