Tulsa, OK- The City of Tulsa isn't taking a holiday this Christmas with old man winter making an abrupt stop into town.
While the kids are nestled all snug in their beds Thursday night, city road crews will be salting the roads so those little ones can safely arrive at grandma's house Christmas Day.
According to Danny Graham, Operations Supervisor at the West Salting Yard, as of Wednesday there were 10,500 tons of salt ready to be spread on arterial streets.
As of noon Thursday, bags of tube sand were like gold and Home Depot's ordered stock was running low.
Sand, ice melt and snow shovels are just a few of the items you'll need to battle the ice not just on the roads, but also on your driveway and sidewalks.
According to EMSA, when a significant ice event hits Green Country, 1-2 people on average slip and fall every hour from something as simple as a walk to the mailbox.
Ice melt and rock salt are good ideas for keeping these areas ice-free.
But, customer beware.
"You have to be careful with the ice melt, because it's actually a chemical," said Joshua Jackson, an associate at Home Depot. "If the concrete's new, it can actually tear the finish up on your concrete."
In that case, he says, it's best to use rock salt.
Keep in mind, the Oklahoma Department of Transportation, as well as the City of Tulsa are responsible for salting the highways, bridges and overpasses, and main streets through town.
But, when it comes to those residential streets, you're pretty much on your own. City crews deem these secondary to the main roads through town and salt them only if they have time to get to them.
For winter driving tips:
http://www.aaaoklahoma.com/news/articles/pr2007_goonicesnow.htm
