Nothing has been plowed in Desoto, Tate, and Panola Counties on the interstates. Still only one lane usable.
Apparently MDOT decided to just not do anything on the interstates.
- Thread starter DesotoCountyDawg
- Start date
Does Mississippi have snow plows? It might be like it is here - the northern portion of the state is pretty much ignored by ALDOT when it comes to winter weather. After all, it is Alabama (and Mississippi).
If it's freezing rain or sleet, you can't really plow that. Only snow.
How are roads on the Tennessee side in Memphis?
If it's freezing rain or sleet, you can't really plow that. Only snow.
How are roads on the Tennessee side in Memphis?
I have never seen a plowed road in Mississippi.
I looked at the interstate webcams at lunch and was shocked. They were untouched.
Louisiana is worse on their winter weather work on highways. Snow plows don't clear all the snow off the road, they just make the snow flat and smooth so people can drive on it until the traffic clears the remainder of the snow with friction heat. It seems like MS mostly focuses on treating the bridges to prevent ice from taking over, rather than plowing deeper snows because we simply don't get enough deep snows to invest in that.
According to this, Mississippi has 135 snow plows and 64 motor graders for clearing snow. https://mdot.ms.gov/portal/news_release_view/2589
(posted this in the wrong thread initially).
(posted this in the wrong thread initially).
Olive Branch is trying to plow. It’s more like scraping.
Desoto County is doing a great job. A lot of the main roads have been plowed and are drivable. It’s just bizarre that MDOT hasn’t done the first thing. As soon as you cross the state line into Tennessee it’s clear running full speed.
MDOT usually plows the interstates first and major hwy's second. This is the first time I can recall that they did not do anything.
I know because I used to work on the Project side of MDOT and occasionally had to provide people to assist.
Well, DeSoto Co maintenance isn't having an issue. Out here by my house they nearly have a secondary rd cleared and they even plowed my "drive" which is actually a Co Rd but I'm the only one on it.
It was like that in 2024. I had to drive in it and when 45 hit the Tennessee line it went from barely passable to almost clear road.
I know it's a different comparison but I looked at NE MS power Outages and then looked at Colbert Co AL. Thousands per county in ms at the time and I think 1 in Colbert Co. I know it was a little east, but still.
Because it hasn’t been. That’s what I’m talking about. MDOT has dropped the ball.
I was at the red light 302 and Old Goodman today. Met the plow going west bound. Saw them plowing in front of my house yesterday. They’re plowing but it’s not effective.
55 was as bad as I’ve ever seen it today. It was so rough that everything in my truck, including my teeth, rattled like they were about to fall out. It was AWFUL.
MSU was shut down for 10ish days in early '96. No roads were ever treated.
Weed got really hard to find
Weed got really hard to find
That's definitely unplowed. Anything more than an 1/8-1/4" depth is unplowed. When they plow it gets very thin in the center of the roadway where it crowns and a little deeper on the edge.
As light as that snow/slush/ice was and as warm as the ground/roads are in the south. A good pass with the plow and a sunny day would clean those roads right up. Unplowed and it will keep thawing in the day and freezing at night until you get cobblestone ice which is brutal.
Unplowed road
Plowed Road
Plowed and tread with brine or salt
302 is still pretty bad especially when you get further out towards Marshall county. I’ll get a report from my dad on 72 and 302 when he drives to OB today.
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2 years and a cpl weeks ago I left St Louis during a pretty serious Midwest blizzard. It was flurrying Saturday night and Sunday it was on. We literally followed a snow plow brigade on 55 leaving the city. As we got to county they had smaller county operations plowing keeping at least 1 lane open. It took a while to get out of town but I was surprised how organized and efficient the infrastructure and response was. They didn’t miss a beat.
I was in my front yard and a John Deere tractor 
sporting an OB decal with a grading blade just went up and down my road. He took the ruts that were in the road and made the ice level.
sporting an OB decal with a grading blade just went up and down my road. He took the ruts that were in the road and made the ice level.We have reflectors piled up on the edges of 565 from snows in prior years. The solution is to use reflectors that are flush with the surface (Tennessee uses those), but ALDOT won't do it because it requires a special device to scoop the asphalt so the reflector can be placed. They somehow don't realize that the climate in the state varies considerably from north to south. MDOT is probably the same.
When we had that ice from the snow last year down here in Picayune, they scraped the interstate to get the snow and ice off and the reflectors were an unfortunate casualty. They had just paved that stretch of I-59 as well. Those reflectors were brand new and they ended up in the flat tire lanes.
Last I heard, reflectors cost about $5 each installed. Plowable ones are about the same, but you need the capability to install them. It might be worth the cost to get the equipment.
Dad said 72 and 302 were pretty awful still. Even worse since the sun is melting it a bit. Y’all stay safe out there.
FYI, the MDOT app has all the traffic cams on it. You can see what the conditions are like if you need to travel.