(Lawrenceville, Ga., Jan. 11, 2011) - The Gwinnett County Department of Transportation has been responding to weather-related road conditions since a winter storm hit metropolitan Atlanta on Sunday evening. The department has been primarily cooperating with and assisting the County's emergency personnel and crews have responded to icy conditions on major thoroughfares and collector streets.

Road Maintenance crews have been and will continue to work in the following shifts:

• 5 a.m. to 7 p.m. - Five trucks equipped with snow plows, six motor graders and 15 sand/salt spreaders (depending on the specific need). Approximately 35 employees have been responding to calls, which have been received primarily from the County's 911 emergency call center.
• 7 p.m. to 5 a.m. - Four trucks equipped with snow plows and three sand/salt spreaders (depending on the specific need). A minimum of eight employees are available to respond to emergency-related calls with the ability to call in more personnel if necessary.

Traffic signal crews have had up to four crews handling any traffic signal outages, on-flash reports, emergencies, etc. Gwinnett DOT will continue to staff the Traffic Control Center beginning each day at 5 a.m. to monitor road conditions of major arterials/corridors. Residents can watch streaming video 24/7 from several major intersections and corridors at www.gcsmartcommute.com and on TVgwinnett government access cable during the hours of 6:30 a.m. and 8:30 a.m. and again between 4 p.m. and 6 p.m.

"It has always been Gwinnett County DOT's philosophy to try to concentrate our limited resources on major roadways," said Gwinnett DOT Director Brian Allen. "We are committed to do our best on major arterials and collector streets."

Gwinnett County officials urge drivers to use extreme caution as conditions along roadways can change greatly over short distances.