Outdoor Crews In The Cold

CHOCTAW COUNTY, Miss. (WCBI) – The cold streak in our area put many outdoor jobs on hold, which included road work.

Roads in downtown areas were fine for the remainder of the cold snap, but in the more rural areas, roads went unattended.

“Well, the roads froze,” said District 1 Supervisor, Joey Stephenson. “You know, you can’t grate it. You can put a little bit of gravel on it, but even a gravel road when it’s froze, the gravels slick. You can slide off the road, so you just do the best you can.”

Workers do the best they can to get most of the work done in advance.

“We usually try to make preparations before the weather gets here,” added District 4 Supervisor, John Shumaker. “You know, before it rains, we try to spot grate and lightly grate them to get the rougher places out.”

During the cold, that’s when road conditions go south.

“You have places where water seeps up through the roads, and that cause a big problem because it freezes and breaks the asphalt,” explained Stephenson.

Supervisors want to ensure the people work will continue when warmer weather comes back.

“We just ask the public to be patient with us because we’re doing the best we can, and there’s just so much you can do this time of year,” said Shumaker.

Also based on the roads, trash pickup workers in Choctaw County took to their routes but not without preparing for the cold.

“It’s crazy,” said Brian Knighton. “You know, Mississippi never sees this kind of weather like this right here, so we just do what we got to do.”

“Man, it’s cold. You got, like he said, a pair of thermals, jumpsuit, two pairs of socks, skullcap, whatever to get warm… warmers in your gloves,” described Knighton’s co-worker, Fredrico Taylor.

Workers said the weather made their route seem longer, but for the people in Choctaw County, their job had to be done.

“We got to,” said Taylor. “Rain, sleet, or snow, we got to go.”

For both services, hopefully weather warms up in the future so roads can be fixed and trash can continue to be picked up… with fewer layers.