TULSA, Okla. — Road crews with the City of Tulsa are hitting the streets as eastern Oklahoma prepares for winter weather over the next several days.

City of Tulsa Street Maintenance Manager Tim McCorkell said the city currently has 40 trucks out on the road applying brine and putting down salt.

“Our plans right now, since the sleet came in, we’re doing a little bit of plowing,” said McCorkell. “We will do an additional salting, and this crew will run until 11 tonight.”

Another road crew will come in at midnight, and crews will continue to run 12-hour shifts around the clock through Wednesday.

Crews struggled to clear sleet that came pouring down rapidly Monday morning.

“It’s kind of hard to address when it comes down that quick,” said McCorkell. ”So the main thing is, once it ends then we can address it a lot better, getting the salt and the brine solution back down on it. But when it comes down that heavy, you cannot address it at that point. You’re just kind of spinning your wheels.”

McCorkell said additional vehicles are plowing the curb lane where enough sleet has accumulated. The city has four brine trucks and 63 salt spreaders, 50 of which are equipped with plows.

McCorkell urges people to stay at home if you can, and if you do have to be out on the road, drive slow and give road crews enough room.

“Main thing is, if you do not have to be out there, do not go out on the roads,” said McCorkell. “The other thing is to slow down.”

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EMSA said, as of 10 a.m., it had responded to 21 vehicle crashes in the Tulsa area and took five patients to the hospital. EMSA said 21 crashes is nearly five times the number of vehicle crashes they would expect to see on a Monday morning. Most of those crashes are happening on or around bridges and overpasses on local highways and interstates.

As of 4 p.m., EMSA said it had responded to 26 motor vehicle crashes and transported seven patients to the hospital.

Oklahoma Department of Transportation crews began treating roads as needed Sunday night, and continue with plowing and treating with sand and salt, especially on bridges and overpasses in Tulsa, Rogers, Mayes, Delaware and Craig Counties.

The City of Tulsa also said refuse, recycling and bulky waste will not be serviced at this time for the safety of crew members. You can leave your cart or scheduled bulky waste at the curb and crews will service once it is safe to do so.

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