Workers in Arkansas working quickly to recuperate from and get ready for additional winter weather

Little Rock, Arkansas – This week’s snowstorm and ice around Arkansas have already required tens of thousands of hours of cleanup time.

Workers around the state are putting forth a lot of effort to clean up after this week’s snowstorm and get ready for possible additional wintry weather next week.

Engineer Brad Smithee of ARDOT District 10 reported that his staff are preparing for the weather system expected next week.

“Had good luck with our equipment. We didn’t have a lot of fatigue or mechanical problems,” said Smithee in an interview with our content partner, Region 8 News. “We feel like we’re in very good shape for this next opportunity next week.”

In terms of resources, Smithee and District 5 Engineer Bruce Street stated they’re doing well.

“We didn’t have to use a lot of it during this last event. The temperatures held to above freezing for the most part,” Street said. “We did not consume as much salt as you normally would if the temperatures had dropped below freezing. We’re okay with salt. We do have additional salt on order.”

The winter storm that hit North Arkansas Electric Cooperative on Tuesday was so intense that it required perseverance.

The cooperative’s CEO, Mel Coleman, stated that there are still sufficient supplies in their warehouses.

“Our supplies are holding out. We talked the other day about supply chain; we keep a lot of inventory here on hand just for this instance,” Coleman said.

“Had this of been similar to what happened in ‘09, we’d be scurrying to get poles,” he said.

The Craighead Electric Cooperative also reported that all of its supplies are still on hand.

“Thankfully, we are not having any supply chain issues,” Hook said. “We’ve kept an eye on it knowing the winter was coming, but we’re hoping this next round misses us.”