Metro urges motorists to avoid roads; snow clearing delayed

Metro Public Works Department officials are advising Davidson County residents to avoid driving Thursday due to snow- and ice-covered roads throughout Nashville.

In addition, trash and recycling collections for Metro customers have been suspended for the day. These routes will be serviced on Saturday.

Metro winter roadway crews will be at work throughout Thursday clearing priority routes, and fewer vehicles will allow them to work quicker and more efficiently than otherwise, the department said in a release. Temperatures well below freezing have made salt mostly ineffective, but plows have been able to clear at least one lane of traffic on the city’s major routes. Drivers should delay travel plans for several hours Thursday, if possible, when officials expect better road conditions.  

Overnight operations were hampered due to heavy traffic, multiple accidents and abandoned vehicles, but Metro crews continued working to address strategic priority routes, the department said. Local streets and residential subdivision roadways, especially those in rural, hilly parts of Davidson County, will be cleared, if needed, later today.

Metro Nashville's priority A and B routes comprise 1,800 lane miles of major roadways that serve as emergency routes and access to the downtown Central Business District and government centers, hospitals and major shopping centers. Non-priority routes and residential streets are addressed once A and B routes are cleared for safe travel. Public Works maintains approximately 5,700 lane miles of roadways countywide.

Residents are encouraged to report dangerous road conditions to the Public Works Customer Service staff by calling 615-862-8750.  Requests can also be submitted online using the Customer Service Online link at www.nashville.gov/pw [1] http://www.nashville.gov/pw [1]  or via email the Customer Care email address which is accessible at http://www.nashville.gov/directory.asp [2] http://www.nashville.gov/directory.asp [2].