TRUMBULL COUNTY, OH - Trumbull County snow plows made several trips to the salt dome to reload on salt Thursday morning. It was mostly just clean up work after 10 a.m. but was a different story hours before.

“The amount of snow we got in a short period of time was a little challenging. It's hard to keep up with that,” Joe Cicchillo, Trumbull County's Assistant Highway Superintendent, said. 

As the flakes piled on the roads overnight all 23 routes across more than 500 miles of road were covered.

With the New Years holiday crews prioritized getting the roads clear between midnight and 1 a.m. when a lot of drivers were expected on the road heading home.

Even as the snow eased up in the morning the county called in all of their 17 extra workers to keep the routes clear. The less traffic on New Years Day made it easier for the trucks to maneuver twist and turns but having some drivers can be a benefit. 

“Sometimes you want the traffic to help work the salt. It helps break up the hard pack and once you get the salt down everything kind of slushes up,” Cicchillo said. 

On the state highways the Ohio Department of Transportation had 23 crews clearing roads into the morning. As temperatures dropped salt wasn’t enough to tackle icy spots.

“We add chemicals such as calcium chloride to the salt to help aid in the deicing process and that really helps keep things as safe and passable as possible,” Amanda McFarland, a Public Information Officer with ODOT said. 

When their roads got quiet crews took advantage by ramping up work to get things back to normal as soon as possible.

“Once that snow stops our crews have a goal of trying to get the roadway back up to a posted speed limit within two hours,” McFarland said. “So will folks maybe not being out on the road that does give them the opportunity to get that done a little bit quicker.”