ICY — Trees remained covered with ice Monday and Tuesday, while main roads were mostly clear. Some side roads remained treacherous as late as Tuesday evening.

Sleet ices roads, DOT out in force

Another round of wintry precipitation — this time mostly in the form of ice rather than snow — resulted in power outages, more closings and delays, and other inconveniences in Alleghany as well as much of the rest of western North Carolina.

Roger Todd, local maintenance supervisor for the N.C. Department of Transportation (DOT), said the ice storm last weekend was the first one the department had to deal with on the highways in some time. Most such events include a combination of sleet and/or freezing rain with snow, Todd explained. "This was all sleet and freezing rain; it's a whole different ball game....

"We've been running around the clock since Saturday night," he said Tuesday morning.

All roads were passable by Monday evening, Todd said. However, while the main roads were cleared, secondary roads were still covered. Referring to ice on the roads Monday, he said, "We had to wait on it to thaw. It was so doggone hard, we could not push it. We had to wait on Mother Nature to help us."

Crews were still working, he added, and they hoped to get more roads down to the bare pavement by the end of the day Tuesday; he called for the public's patience. "We'll keep knocking it until we get it off"

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