IE 11 Not Supported

For optimal browsing, we recommend Chrome, Firefox or Safari browsers.

Georgia Agencies Prep for the Next 'Snowmageddon'

The state has added 88 pieces of equipment to deal with wintry precipitation, bringing the state’s fleet to 500 vehicles in metro Atlanta.

Georgia National Guardsmen deliver fuel to stranded motorists
Georgia National Guardsmen deliver fuel to stranded motorists in January 2014. Georgia Army National Guard photo by Sgt. Michael Uribe
(TNS) — On the coldest morning since last winter, officials with numerous state agencies gathered Tuesday morning to practice ways to avoid a repeat of last winter’s memorable “Snowmageddon.”

On that cold January day, heavy snow moved into metro Atlanta just as businesses and government agencies sent workers home, and thousands of motorists were stranded overnight — and well into the next day — on jammed, ice- and snow-laden streets and interstates.

Tuesday, the Georgia Emergency Management Agency opened its Emergency Operations Center for a coordination exercise that involved GEMA, the Georgia Department of Transportation, the Georgia Department of Public Safety, the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, the Georgia Forestry Commission and the Georgia National Guard.

Later in the morning, at GDOT’s Forest Park maintenance facility, officials showed of some of the new plows and brine trucks that have been added to the state’s snow-removal arsenal since last winter.

The state has added 88 pieces of equipment to deal with wintry precipitation, bringing the state’s fleet to 500 vehicles in metro Atlanta.

The state plans to use newly purchased brine spreaders to pre-treat roads in advance of any forecast snow or ice.

“I do think that the equipment is going to be a huge improvement,” GEMA Director Charley English told Channel 2 Action News Tuesday. “It helps with the pre-treatment, when you have that brine versus just a salt mixture.”

©2014 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (Atlanta, Ga.). Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.