ICE RECOVERY - 2-4-2022 - DOWNTOWN LOUISVILLE FIFTH AND ALI.jfif

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Now that snow and ice have stopped falling across Kentucky and Indiana, road conditions are improving.

Interstates around Louisville are in reasonably good shape with a few patches of snow. The roads have been treated, so the surface is wet, which is a bigger concern as temperatures begin to drop to near single digits Friday night.

Secondary roads in metro Louisville are covered in slush, and neighborhood roads are likely not plowed or treated. But most are drivable, according to WDRB reporter Lexie Ratterman. She said roads in Oldham County were not in great shape Friday morning.

Louisville's Metro Public Works said the public staying off the roads during the winter weather helped it treat roadways quickly.

"Empty roads have permitted our Metro Snow Team to work even harder and more efficiently; plowing and applying hefty amounts of salt and calcium chloride mix. Currently, Metro roads are slick but passable at very low speed," spokesman Sal Melendez said in a release.

Melendez said crews have plowed and treated more than 100 snow routes around Louisville. 

Road crews in Louisville will continue working around the clock. To check progress on which city roadways been plowed and salted on the Metro Public Works snow routes map, click here. 

Authorities say drivers heeded the call to stay off the roads -- and as a result, the number of emergency calls was relatively low. Louisville Metro Emergency Services said from 8 a.m. Thursday to 8 a.m. on Friday, there were 1,664 calls to 911 compared to the previous week's total of 1,845. Despite the icy conditions, MetroSafe numbers show few accidents were reported.

In Indiana, Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) said around 1,000 plow trucks used about 215,000 tons of salt for roadways.

Rural areas have fewer resources to handle the winter weather and clear the roadways.

Tim Cochran, Superintendent for Clark County Highway Department, said 35 workers are responsible for 500-plus road miles in the county.

"We do the best we can with what we got," Cochran said. "Last night we tried to plow it out as best we could. Mother nature was on our side a little bit this morning with sunlight and so that's helping out tremendously."

With varying terrain and topography, clearing county roads can be a challenge compared to interstate highways.

"We have dead end roads where we take a risk of getting stuck when they have to turn around," Cochran said. "We try to knock out our primary roads first, our major roads that people travel the most."

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