Winter storm preparation begins, TxDOT treating Austin roads

AUSTIN, Texas - Trucks at a Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) lot in Northeast Austin got the green light Monday to start preparing local roadways for the coming winter storm. 

The plan is similar to deicing operations done back in January- a weather game plan that was modified after the crisis in February, according to TxDOT spokesperson Diann Hodges.

"We're ready. We're we've got the materials we need, and we are ready to go out and treat those roads," said Hodges.

Operations Monday involved dodging rain showers. The roll-out was done to prevent deicing materials from being washed away.

"And then of course, our crews will treat the roads, pretreat the roads as necessary and then retreat those roads as needed and then be on standby in case we need to get in there and do something more," said Hodges.

The city of Austin also made changes after the February storm.  They came after a review determined the city wasn't prepared. 

"What we've seen is that several city departments have made updates to better serve central Texans and things were made that we are very-that we know are very- common sense," said Austin city council member Vanessa Fuentes.

In an interview with FOX 7's Jane Lonsdale, said improvements were not limited to things like the purchase of tire chains and traction control devices for several vehicles.

"We updated protocols to ensure that entry points for critical facilities such as EMS and fire stations, hospitals, that they're cleared, and that there is an easy way to get in and out, especially for emergency vehicles. Additionally, we've ensured that at our recreation centers we have mission-ready packets. I mean cots, blankets, water food supply, things that are of need in times of emergency," Fuentes.

Recent upgrades to the electrical power grid will also be tested. Energy expert Ed Hirs, with the University of Houston, told FOX 7 some isolated outages from power line breaks can be expected. But he warned, ERCOT cannot afford to treat this storm as a dress rehearsal.

Interim CEO of ERCOT, Brad Jones, says they are anticipating high demand for power Wednesday through Sunday due to the forecasted cold front and are taking early preventative action.
 
"ERCOT will deploy all the tools available to us to manage the grid effectively during this winter weather. We are coordinating closely with the Texas Division of Emergency Management, the Public Utility Commission. and elected officials — as well as electric generators and transmission and distribution utilities — to keep Texans informed throughout the week," Jones said.

ERCOT has ordered power plants across Central Texas to postpone any planned outages and to return from outages that are already in progress, according to Jones.

"This should not be a learning opportunity. There should be business as usual. We shouldn't see any blackouts or any calls for conservation. If they fix it the way they said they have, we won't miss a beat," said Hirs.

Hirs is optimistic about the outlook for what the storm could do.

"I think with this cold front, we're probably in good shape. It doesn't appear to be coming in with the ice storms that we had last winter. It appears to be milder, but once again you're asking an economist to opine on the weather. I mean, we've got at least two ways this can go wrong," said Hirs.

Those two ways according to Hirs, would be if the storm becomes stronger than forecast and if recent weatherization efforts will not hold up. Officials with ERCOT tell FOX 7 that only a few power generators are scheduled to be offline during this weather event. FOX 7 was also told the deicer put down in between rainstorms Monday should not wash off unless it's a heavy rainstorm.

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