BATON ROUGE - The Department of Transportation and Development wasted little time positioning crews and salt trucks near busy roadways across Louisiana on Thursday.

Even with warm temperatures, DOTD crews spent their day moving salt to staging areas across the Baton Rouge area in preparation for a change in the weather. DOTD Public Information Director, Rodney Mallett said operations began Wednesday.

"Right now, we're moving salt that we're going to use to keep the roads open as long as we can," said Mallett.

Road crews staged areas for the salt trucks, mostly near bridges since bridges typically freeze first. In North Louisiana, DOTD crews already spread salt brine on some roads and bridges near Shreveport and Bossier City on Thursday morning. But in South Louisiana, DOTD said it's a little too soon to spread salt or brine.

"If we put salt out right now, it wouldn't do any good; it would just blow away. If it rains later and then freezes, it's just going to wash away. So what we do is we put the salt in the staging areas, and depending on the temperature and the rainfall, at that time we'll put the salt down," said Mallett.

In January 2025, Louisiana was experiencing snow. This week, with potential for ice, DOTD said treating the roads will present a more difficult task than last January.

"Ice is much worse than snow. Because when ice forms on the roadways and bridges, it's really hard to get it off. With snow, you can get a snowplow and move it around," said Mallett.

Experts strongly encourage drivers to stay off the roads this weekend. But if you do have to drive, AAA spokesperson Don Redman offered up some tips.

"If you have to be on the roadway, just drive slowly and cautiously. Carry things with you like warm winter clothes. it can be more than an hour if you do need roadside assistance," said Redman.

Redman added that drivers should check their car's battery, tires and antifreeze levels before hitting the road in winter weather.