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Road crews in the Poconos ready for wintry weather

The Poconos should see some of the most snowfall throughout our area. Newswatch 16's Amanda Eustice shows us the preparations.

TOBYHANNA, Pa. — Filled with salt, the trucks here inside the Tobyhanna Township municipal garage are ready to go. All that's left is to hook up the plows.

Corey Burd, the township roadmaster, says he and his crew are ready for the incoming snow.

"Whether it's a half-inch or feet, we prepare the same way. We get ourselves all prepped, our trucks loaded and ready to go, so as soon as it starts getting covered, we can get in here. We can get started; get the roads opened up."

Burd expects that he and his crew to be out most of the night clearing roads.

"We're expecting probably around 12 to 16 hours, at least, on this one, maybe more. It will be the entire DPW staff, including myself, and then we'll call in some outside vendors when we need to. We also have a few part-time guys that we can call."

Burd says this winter has been pretty quiet, which has helped them save money on salt and maintenance on their trucks.

"It's been pretty mild. Last year, we went through roughly 400,000, almost 500,000 tons of salt, and this year we've only had to order 200 tons so far to backfill what we already used up from our stock last year. We're sparing on the material this year, luckily, because of the weather."

Burd's message to drivers is simple.

"Be careful, and if you don't have to go anywhere, stay home. It makes life so much easier when we don't have to plow around stuck vehicles and stuff. We can get things done a little bit quicker."

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PennDOT temporarily reduces the speed limit to 45 mph on several roadways in the region when weather conditions warrant.

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