NEWS
TxDOT preps area highways for winter storms

WICHITA FALLS DISTRICT – All nine counties (Archer, Baylor, Clay, Cooke, Montague, Throckmorton Wichita, Wilbarger, and Young) in the Wichita Falls District spent today preparing for the winter storm predicted to hit Tuesday night into Wednesday. The Wichita District takes care of 6,500 lane miles of roadways in our 9 counties.
TxDOT crews pretreated bridges and overpasses with brine. Some areas utilized two large tanker trucks to spread brine quickly. These tankers also delivered extra brine to maintenance yards. Snowplows and V-Box with spreaders were hooked up and tested on our fleet of 79 snowplows for the district.
In the Wichita Falls area, the main lanes of I-44, US 287, and Kell Fwy (US 82) were pretreated with brine. The bridges and overpasses were treated as well. Other lesser volume highways had bridges and overpasses treated.
In the Gainesville area the main lanes of I-35 were pretreated with brine. The bridges and overpasses were included as usual. Other lesser volume highways had bridges and overpasses treated.
Pretreating the main lanes of our highest volume freeways is done when a storm system is expected to dump large amounts of snow in a relatively short amount of time. TxDOT employs this strategy only on Tier one roadways.
Tuesday, crews will finish up pretreatment of Tier 1 and 2 highways as well as moving to Tier 3 and 4 roadways. More brine will be made to keep storage units full as we put down more.
We will also be sending half of our crew home near lunchtime to rest. This half crew will return at midnight to start a 12-hour shift around the clock at all of our offices.
Tuesday will also be a good day for motorists to plan ahead for their Wednesday travel plans.
- Check your oil, antifreeze, and windshield wiper blades. Top off items if needed.
- Double-check your tire pressure and your spare tire.
- Fill up your gas tank hours before the storm hits.
- Pack your snow brush, ice melt, snow shovel, tool kit.
- Don’t forget warm boots, socks, gloves, and coat.
- Is your phone charged? Pack your cables.
Motorists can obtain travel information by visiting drivetexas.org or calling (800) 452-9292 Twitter for the Wichita Falls District is also available for breaking conditions. @TxDOTWF
NEWS
Amon Carter Lake Board to meet
Members of the Amon Carter Lake Water Supply Corporation will meet at 6 p.m. on May 26 in the office at 607A Lindsey for a monthly meeting.
Items on the agenda include a consent agenda and minutes and financials. Possible discussion/action may be considered on the following topics: Treasurer’s report, review of finance and current loans; president’s report as to the written agreements with contractual employees; consider current water rates and a possible increase; and review of expenses and areas that need amendment.
An executive session may be entered to discuss personnel issues.
NEWS
Saint Jo City Council hires fire marshal
The City of Saint Jo has a new fire marshal as the city council made the appointment during its May 13 meeting.
Gary Hines, a retired professional firefighter and certified fire investigator, will take the position. City Secretary Debbie Dennis said the post is required by ordinance but has not been filled for a long period.
The council set dates for a budget workshop for 2 p.m. on June 14 and 2 p.m. on June 28 for the ordinance workshop, as the council works to update its rules.
Aldermen gave their support to a proposition by Councilman Jack Dunn who is asking the Legislature to allow Texas’ smallest cities, those with 2,500 or few in population, to receive an additional share of sales and use tax. He would like to see the funds used in these communities to repair and replace aging infrastructure without new taxes or reliance on state grants.
In letter to State Rep. David Spiller, whom Dunn will meet with on June 1, the alderman explains much of the state’s 6.25% share generated locally flows into general funds and is spent on other priorities. He would like Spiller to author this legislation. Dunn gave the letter to the council along with a powerpoint on the plan.
“A single water treatment plant upgrade or sewer rehab carries massive, fixed costs that do not shrink with population size. These communities, often with only a few hundred or a couple thousands residents, simply cannot spread those costs across enough ratepayers or a broad tax based,” the letter states.
Dunn suggests a “graduated sales tax retention policy:” 1% additional share for cities with 2,500 or fewer residents; .75% for those 2,500 and 5,000; and .50% for cities between 5,001 and 10,000. It would be dedicated to infrastructure. Dunn says the overall statewide fiscal impact would be negligible, but could help sustain small, rural cities.
NEWS
City of Nocona buys water storage tank, review dam repair
The Nocona City Council approved a bid for a new 203,000 gallon capacity tank for potable water at the water plant and learned a slide repair to the lake dam is going to be pretty costly.
At its May 12 session the council received three bids on the tank and went with one from Tank Depot of Cleburne for $193,923. It is for a a 217,600 gallon tank usable for 203,000 gallons. The price could change slightly since it was based on estimate freight costs.
Read the full story in the Thursday Bowie News.
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