"We're going to see some re-freezing. News forecasters have been talking about an arctic cold front coming at us from the west side; it's supposed to arrive late [Tuesday] afternoon put the temperature down in the teens. If that occurs, you're going to see some black ice in areas," said Randy Gray, Bartow County Road Department director.
He added that primary roads, however, were in good condition as favorable results have been seen from the compounds used in spreading material. City of Cartersville Public Works Director Bobby Elliott was hopeful for clear roads throughout the city limits.
"We tried our best to get as much off the roads as we possibly could so we wouldn't have the re-freeze and it paid off," Elliott said. "If we can get three or four hours above freezing this afternoon, I think we're going to be in really good shape."
Both road departments have worked around the clock since the snowfall began. Elliott said that plows and spreaders went strategically through the city beginning with major roads and emergency assist agencies. Crews then are dispatched to known problem spots, including hills and bridges, before tackling the residential streets.
"We end up waiting until the end on what we call local streets, subdivision streets because we don't have enough people and equipment to attack everything at once. We're working on a bunch of local streets today that still have some problem areas," Elliott said Tuesday.
The National Weather Service has included Bartow County in a Special Weather Statement issued Tuesday afternoon. Icy conditions were forewarned, emphasizing the risks involved with bridges and overpasses as they will ice before roads.
"Driving conditions will remain treacherous across north and much of central Georgia through Wednesday. North Georgia still has snow, sleet and ice on the ground, with temperatures remaining below freezing across the area. This will allow for any moisture on the sidewalks and roadways to freeze and remain frozen. Temperatures across north Georgia will struggle to reach above freezing through Thursday and this will provide little chance for the ice to melt and conditions to improve," stated the NWS Tuesday.
Although major thoroughfares and roadways were passable Tuesday afternoon, Gray encouraged motorists to again refrain from driving when at all possible.
"It makes our job a lot easier if we can keep the sightseers and people that don't need to be out traveling on the roadways off the roadways because we don't have those interruptions when we're plowing the roads," he said.
With nearly 1,000 miles of roadway to manage, the Bartow County Road Department has been working to clear streets as has the city of Cartersville and the Georgia Department of Transportation.
"We've been working around the clock since 10 p.m. Sunday night and so far we've cleared about 600 miles. We've still got a couple hundred miles we haven't touched yet," Gray said.
Elliott noted that as of noon Tuesday, overtime for the city has amounted to $3,500 and about $3,000 worth of rock salt, calcium chloride and pea-gravel as they cleared the 257 lane miles within their territory.
"Of course on the sidewalks and in folks' yards and things like that, snow is going to be here -- it's going to be here for several days -- but we're hoping that our roadways are going to be in good shape," Elliott said.
Although power outages were a major concern leading up to this week's winter weather, the city of Cartersville reported no power outages and Georgia Power reported only seven customers in Bartow County affected during the 24 hours before 11 a.m. Tuesday. Georgia Power representative Lynn Wallace said that the hardest hit areas were in south and coastal Georgia.