Maryville, TN – Knox County is bracing for a snow event expected to impact the area this Friday. In preparation, county crews have already begun treating roads and putting plans into motion to ensure quick and efficient snow removal throughout the weekend.
Knox County Mayor Glenn Jacobs and Jim Snowden, Senior Director of Engineering and Public Works, spoke to WVLT News about the ongoing preparations. Jacobs highlighted that road crews have already started grinding road surfaces, and they anticipate a busy weekend ahead.
“We’ve already been out grinding the roads,” Jacobs said. “We’re doing that now because we expect that our snowplow drivers will have a very busy weekend.”
Snowden provided an update on the progress, saying that crews have been applying brine solution to roadways since Wednesday. By Thursday, approximately 70% of the roads had been treated.
“Our guys started applying the brine solution to all our roadways yesterday,” Snowden said. “We got about 70% of those done.”
The county follows a specific snow-clearing process, prioritizing larger, high-traffic roads first, then moving onto secondary and tertiary routes. Snowden emphasized the importance of focusing on emergency locations, such as roads around hospitals and nursing homes, as part of the county’s strategy.
“We look at certain emergency locations, locations around hospitals, nursing homes. We want to get there too, so we do try to look at it through that lens,” Snowden explained.
County officials have set up a system that allows residents to check the priority of their roads, ensuring they are informed about snow removal efforts in their area.
As the snowstorm approaches, crews will be on standby and ready to deploy snowplows as soon as the snow begins to accumulate. “We’ll have folks staged up in their districts with those plows on,” Snowden added. “We’ll try to get that snow off the road as soon as it comes.”
The preparation comes after last year’s significant snowstorm, which required weeks of road treatment and cleanup. Snowden said the county has made several improvements since then, including the purchase of additional equipment, more salt, and retrofitted trucks for snow removal.
“We were able to buy some additional equipment and change some processes around,” Snowden noted. “We’ve also updated our priority list, and hopefully the brine solution will help prevent roads from freezing.”
The county’s efforts to improve snow clearing operations have come at a significant cost, totaling hundreds of thousands of dollars. However, these updates are expected to help ensure smoother snow removal this year.
Mayor Jacobs also took the opportunity to acknowledge the hard work and risks faced by snowplow drivers during the storm. Last year, one of the county’s snow trucks flipped, though the injuries were minor.
“Those folks work really, really hard,” Jacobs said. “Last year we had one of our snow trucks flip. Fortunately, the injuries were only minor, but I’d ask folks to remember: keep our road crews in their prayers and thank them, buy them a coffee.”
As the storm approaches, Knox County officials are encouraging residents to stay informed and exercise caution on the roads. Crews will continue to work around the clock to ensure the safety and accessibility of county roads throughout the storm.
