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I don't think the brine is what it's made out to be? I'm sure it "helps" at best?
It does seem like people expect brine to be this magical elixir that will keep the roads perfectly clear and passable. Um ... not quite. But it's better than nothing.
Atlanta's interstates are now in their 18th hour of gridlock. Georgia doesn't do anything proactively. Pre-treating roads? What? That would require diligence, planning and actually doing something in advance.
Look at this photo of people having to sleep in a CVS along I-75 in northwest Atlanta last night. Right now there are children on school buses still on the interstate from yesterday.
North Carolina's DOT has the common sense to pre-treat THOUSANDS and THOUSANDS of miles of city and rural highways two and three days in advance. I remember last year driving from Atlanta to Louisburg and seeing a faint white line (of brine solution) on every country road throughout NC last year.
Smart people running things in North Carolina.
Georgia? Not at all...
Well, much of that knowledge was gained when the exact same thing happened here in 2005. Mid Day snow, schools let out, people left, packed the snow down and got stuck for 12 hours. Many people abandoned their cars and walked home. Some kids had to stay overnight in schools. Luckily I lived close to the office and two people that lived decently far away stayed with me that night.
The schools here did not go yesterday at all in fear of something similar happening,.
Here in GA, part of the issue is that there were some conflicting weather reports as late as Monday. Initially, some outlets said the storm was going to mainly hit south of the city (the southern 'burbs all the way down to Macon), so that's where most of the equipment was shifted and those are the school districts that preemptively closed first; Atlanta and the northern 'burbs were said to only get a little snow. By the time the weather report revisions were made, there was much less time to prepare and kids were already in school. Now you know some people will get made if schools close on the threat of a very minor dusting, so it was kind of a "damned if you do, damned if you don't" type of situation. It's a pretty sad situation here though.
Good grief, it does not snow enough in Atlanta to warrant having the resources to deal with a snow fall that 'might' happen every 10 - 20 years, and it would be fiscally irresponsible and wasteful to do so.
And the very last place you will find me in any snow or ice is on the interstate, be it GA or anywhere else. You are trapped, fenced in by guard rails, fences, median barriers with zero possibility of turning around or taking an alternate route, or even getting anyplace with heat, restrooms, food, etc.
Ill admit I dont understand how the make up of roads of Georgia city vs state and why there is a disconnect when area is under a state of emergency or why communications couldnt be used to alert.
This wasnt a surprise weather system , I saw the system heading over Atlanta a few days before arrival the one that NC wasnt even formed at all but NC took analysis of various computer models and brine the roads out of precaution.
I think Georgia and Atlanta have a disconnect on who and how to handle inclement weather.
It might be because this state owns a good portion of the roads in this state including alot in the various city limits might be why we handle a crisis like this.
Im in central part of North Carolina and we also was in predicted light coverage area if any but the state brine the roads on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.
Raleigh school system closed their schools a day before despite knowing the system wasnt going to hit in afternoon and it actually hit that area after 6pm but they took a pro active approach.
Elizabeth City only has two brine trucks but the state proactive called the national guard to help them before and when the system hit.
Georgian leaders can deflect the blame but it not going to solve anything. I definitely dont see why they couldnt at least pre treat the interstates. I dont remember ever the interstates in NC wasnt brine with even a sneeze chance of snow or ice.
Last edited by SunnyKayak; 01-29-2014 at 05:54 PM..
And Asheville area (Buncombe) was one of the few counties in the state not under the storm warning, prediction flurries at worst.
We got hammered, it pour snow with school buses on the road. And because the temp was in the teens, every flake that fell stuck. Some buses made it to school and parents had to pick them up at school. Some buses turned around and took students home.
And because the buses had started their runs, it does not count as a missed day, so it will not have to be made up. Snowed Tuesday morning, and they didn't go back to school till Friday on a 3 hour delay.
Does GA even have the equipment to treat for significant amounts of show/ice accumulation? Nonetheless, I can't see how the blame can fall on any one person, or even a group of people. Well, unless you want to scream at the weather forecasters. It could have been worse, but the people also had a duty to be prepared and they failed at that.
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