With winter weather just around the corner, the Missouri Department of Transportation will hold its annual winter operations drill on Thursday, October 16.

Motorists may notice an increased number of MoDOT vehicles on state routes during the drill, which will begin at 8 a.m. in rural areas and 9 a.m. in urban areas. The exercise should be completed by 3 p.m.

MoDOT has approximately 2,400 snowplow operators across the state involved in clearing the roads and bridges when winter weather hits. During the drill, MoDOT employees will react to a simulated forecast of significant snow for the entire state. The department’s emergency operations centers will activate, and all employees involved in winter operations will be deployed to their trucks. Emergency communications systems will also be tested.

MoDOT spent more than $64 million on winter operations last year and used 160,000 tons of salt, 2.1 million gallons of salt brine and 229,000 gallons of beet juice.