GREEN BAY (NBC 26) — AAA is predicting 100 million drivers will be on the road during this holiday weekend, which is a 32 percent increase from last year, said Mark Kantola, WisDOT Communications Manager.
"People need to know that there's going to be real heavy volume on the highways, interstates, local roads, county roads," he said. "You really got to make sure you know before you go.”
Bridges and highways aren’t the only stretches you want to be extra careful driving on this weekend, said Kantola.
“If you're traveling on a local road or county road, some of them can be pretty remote," he said. "If you do go off the road, you might be there a while before emergency responders can get to you, or your friends or family can come and pick you up.”
Have you ever wondered why bridges get so icy? Brittney Merlot, our morning meteorologist, tells us it's because bridges have access to more cold air.
"Think about it right? The ground is insulating, it takes it longer for it to freeze over, for the ground temperature change, versus the actual air temperature," she explained. "So you're getting those below freezing temperatures above and below the bridge, making that actual road of the bridge itself below freezing and icy.”
Ice is definitely the worst extreme weather condition to drive in, she said.
“Once you hit that black ice, you start to lose control, you get nervous and you have that gut reaction to react right away, and sometimes it's too severe, which causes you to over-correct and spin out, when really you should just let go of the accelerator, don't hit the brake," said Merlot. "Actually, just make some small movements to stay perfectly on the road there.”
Rest assured, whether we see rain, snow, ice or sleet, WisDOT is still working 24/7 during the holidays.
“If it snows on Christmas, we're going to get the snow off the road," said Kantola. "If it snows on New Year's, we’re going to get the snow off the road.”
