CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Road crews are keeping their eyes on Mecklenburg County roads Friday night and early Saturday morning, as temperatures hover around freezing and threaten to create ice patches on roads.
"The roads are going to look wet, and if they're real shiny you could very possibly have black ice," said David Childress, who is a street maintenance supervisor with North Carolina DOT. "There's a good chance you're going to find ice out there in places."
A steady rain kept roads wet Friday, but temperatures in most of the county didn't drop below freezing.
NCDOT has close to 60 salt trucks stationed on major interstates around the county, for when precipitation levels off and temperatures drop. A little rain helps salt stick to the roads, but too much rain will wash it away.
Most of Friday’s problems were in the northern part of the county, around Huntersville, Cornelius and Lake Norman. Snow mixed with rain created slush on highways, which then froze in some places.
Childress said crews had covered most of the dangerous areas, and are keeping a close eye on bridges and overpasses. He doesn’t expect any of them to close because of ice.
Travelers with questions about road conditions can call the state’s hotline, 511.
