CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Walking along South Tryon Street Friday afternoon, Joe Franco was glad what was falling from the sky was only rain.
"Well, I sure hope it's not ice. I don't think anybody around here needs that," he said.
But that is what officials of the state and local Department of Transportation offices fear will happen as the temperature flirts with the freezing mark.
DOT trucks were out again Friday. The state DOT has 50 trucks ready to go and the Charlotte DOT has 30 more.
The state DOT spokesperson, Jennifer Thompson, said crews were focusing on bridges and ramps of major interstates and secondary roads.
"Anything that is elevated since the temperature will get colder there first," she said.
As many as 60 employees of the state DOT division that includes the Charlotte area have been laid off as a result of the recession. Some of them would be working snow duty.
"We've had to make some concessions and make some changes because of not having as much staff as we are used to having," Thompson said.
However, if needed, Thompson said crew from Anson and Union Counties could be called in as backup.
Click here for the updated forecast.
