Oakland County prepares roads ahead of Wednesday winter storm

Winter storm preparations underway on Oakland County roads

Road crews are preparing with a mixture of water and salt called liquid brine. By spraying the streets it is said to help delay the formation of ice.

OAKLAND COUNTY, Mich. (FOX 2) - An expected winter storm with 4 to 7 inches of snow targeting Southeastern Michigan is set for Wednesday afternoon into the early morning of Thursday.

Road crews are preparing with a mixture of water and salt called liquid brine. By spraying the streets it helps delay the formation of ice.

The road commission for Oakland County is already gearing up.

Big picture view:

"We have a few crews doing some pre-treating today where they spray liquid brine on the roads," said Craig Bryson, Oakland County Road Commission. "It's literally naturally occurring salt water. We put a layer of the liquid brine on the road. It delays the formation of ice."

From there, the commission has drivers on call ready to go, once the snow starts falling.

Working to keep drivers and roads safe is a lot of work and they're asking for your patience.

"We will get into subdivisions," Bryson said. "But it won't be until after we've got all the main roads cleared."

Priorities include I-75, I-696 and Big Beaver.

"We've got 109 trucks and we've got about 3,000 miles of roads we maintain," he said. "We do the best we can, but if it's snowing a half inch an hour, which is what the prediction is, the roads will be snow covered at times."

Winter storm expected to hit Wednesday afternoon

How much snow will we get? Derek Kevra has the numbers.

What you can do:

Officials say when you're out driving and you see one of these trucks stay back.

"The law now states you have to stay 200 feet back from a snow plow while it's driving, (and) 20 feet back when it is stopped at an intersection," Bryson said.