LITTLE ROCK — Snowplow crews across Arkansas will practice their winter weather response Tuesday during a statewide drill organized by the Arkansas Department of Transportation (ARDOT). The exercise, scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., aims to ensure preparedness ahead of the snow and ice season.
According to ARDOT officials, the event will include driver training, equipment inspections, and route testing for snowplow trucks. Crews will also coordinate with the department’s Emergency Operations Center, which will be fully activated for the exercise. Participants in the drill include ARDOT’s Winter Weather Strike Team, comprising field personnel from maintenance crews across the state, alongside several district maintenance teams.
“The drill gives our crews the opportunity to respond to a simulated winter weather event by hooking up all the snowplows and salt spreaders and getting familiar with their assigned routes before there is snow and ice on the ground,” said Deric Wyatt, ARDOT’s state maintenance engineer. “When the whole team goes into the winter season working from the same game plan, we can do the job safely and efficiently.”
Wyatt emphasized that the ultimate goal is to ensure the safety of travelers by keeping roads passable during winter storms. During actual weather events, the Winter Weather Strike Team supports ARDOT’s regular maintenance crews in clearing snow and ice from major highways and interstates, with operations running around the clock as needed. Crews relay real-time roadway conditions to ARDOT’s Central Office Maintenance Division in Little Rock.
Jared Wiley, ARDOT’s director, underscored the importance of thorough preparation. “When winter weather strikes, the men and women of ARDOT put their lives on hold until the roads are clear and the public is moving again,” Wiley said. “Our teams plan, practice, and ready equipment ahead of time so that when Mother Nature threatens, we are ready to go.”
ARDOT stores approximately 80,000 tons of salt statewide, housed in 116 storage facilities that are routinely refilled during summer months to ensure readiness by winter. The department operates more than 600 snowplows stationed at district offices and county maintenance headquarters across the state.
The department also maintains the winter weather features on the IDriveArkansas.com website and conducts regular preparedness meetings throughout the year, supplementing the annual drill. These resources are designed to help travelers plan routes and stay informed during severe weather conditions.
The focus of Tuesday’s drill underscores ARDOT’s commitment to safe and efficient responses, helping travelers reach destinations and return home without incident during Arkansas’s often unpredictable winter months.