GORDON COUNTY, Ga. — Normally, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day is a holiday for state workers.

But as soon as the Georgia Department of Transportation (GDOT) confirmed winter weather was on the way, that changed everything.

Channel 2′s Tyisha Fernandes visited the GDOT facility Monday evening where they store the equipment that help keep roads clear of ice and snow.

GDOT stores large amounts of salt in barns and they make their own brine.

Crews started treating roads with brine on Sunday in advance of the cold weather.

“By now we’ve put out over 170,000 gallons of brine on all the state routes and we’re starting to transition to putting out salt and treating bridges and overpasses,” Joe Schulman, GDOT’s District Communication Officer said.

Schulman said he wants drivers to stay off the roads if they can, but if you have to drive - take things slow and keep an eye out for the brine trucks.

“If you see our brine trucks or our salt trucks out, give them some space to work because we’re trying to keep the roads clear and safe for everybody,” Schulman said.

GDOT will have plow trucks ready for any snowfall and now that they’ve laid the brine foundation, they’ll wait until the ground gets wet.

“The salt goes on to it and will break up any of the ice that might form in the snow, and then of course we have our plow trucks ready so that if there’s accumulation we can clear the roads,” Schulman said.

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