Salt Lake International, UDOT prepare for incoming holiday storm

SALT LAKE CITY — The Utah Department of Transportation and the Salt Lake International Airport are each prepping for an incoming storm in hopes of keeping people safe during their holiday travels.

UDOT officials explained that because of expected rain Thursday evening, it means they can’t pretreat the roads with brine because it’ll wash away.

It makes prepping for this next storm a little different than normal.

Mitch Shaw, a spokesperson for UDOT, cautioned that high-elevation roads will be dangerous and create problems for those who aren’t careful. This will affect those heading up to Big or Little Cottonwood Canyons, or up Parley’s Canyon on Interstate 80.

A team of meteorologists will be working all through the holiday, Shaw said, watching for where and when that storm hits.

“When they have that information, our plow operators will act accordingly,” he explained. “They’ll be stationed in the high priority areas, and just ready to go at a moment’s notice when the snow starts to fall.”

Nancy Volmer with Salt Lake International Airport said that their crews are on alert. Even though the storm will start with rain, they’ll be ready to pretreat the runway as needed.

She indicated that they expect to need to plow and de-ice on Saturday.

Volmer advised travelers show up extra early, considering the storm will be hitting during the busyness of holiday travel.

She also suggested making reservations in the airport’s economy parking lot for guaranteed parking. She said that lot costs $9 a day.