As the sun melted some ice in North Texas on Tuesday, the water, snow, and melted ice that didn’t dry out have the potential to refreeze in the late-night hours, which could cause travel troubles.
Some Tarrant County residents ventured out on Tuesday as the sun peeked out during the afternoon.
“We were running a little low on groceries and we heard Kroger was open, so. We just, we decided to brace the weather and walk down there,” said Bedford resident, Pluto Burton.
“Yeah, well, I, we didn’t really want to drive on the road. They have just a little spark, and it’s not very prepared to brace this weather.”
North Texas roads have been a patchwork of water, slush, snow, and ice, and drivers don’t know which one they’ll hit.
Small suburban cities like Bedford have one crew trying to keep up.
“So what they have to do is they have to take these calls in priority. They do their intersections, they do their inclines, and any other curves that might be of issue. Residential streets and, and everything else, the cities can’t maintain accessing,” said Bedford Public Works Director Layne Cline.
Fort Worth has the same protocol.
“They start with our priority list of hospital entrances, bridges, critical hills, and locations around the city where emergency responders will need to be making passes for response,” said Lara Ingram with Fort Worth Transportation and Public Works.
“But with this level of ice, sleet and snow that has stuck to the ground, that is not going to make sure that all 8,600 lane miles get treated, ” Ingram said.
Fort Worth police say since the winter storm began on Friday, they’ve helped over 400 stranded drivers, responded to over 200 accidents and nearly 100 weather-related hazards.
And threats still loom as temperatures dip back below freezing.
“Everything is, as you can see, if it’s wet, it’s going to refreeze again. So, these slick icy conditions are still going to continue potentially for the next 2 days,” Cline said.
Both the city of Fort Worth and Bedford say that even if your area is not on their priority list, they will respond to those who call to report a concern.
You can call 311 or 817-392-1234 to report a dangerous road in your area.
Fort Worth is providing winter weather updates online.
For Bedford, email public.works@bedfordtx.gov.