Weather worries hold up traffic

For nearly an hour Tuesday afternoon, White Hall’s city road crew waited on the weather –whether the sleet was going to stick around or not.

It didn’t amount to much but did slow the after-school traffic.

That’s how District 11 state Rep. Mark McElroy (Rep) described the sleet as he drove through the town on his way to the Arkansas State Capitol in Little Rock.

White Hall Mayor Noel Foster said it’s been a few years since White Hall, population about 5,500, has seen a real snow or ice storm like the one that blanketed Southeast Arkansas in 1999, but the city’s road crew is ready for inclement weather.

He said the city’s road crew of seven and its small dump trucks are able to handle its numerous intersections while the Arkansas Department of Transportation handles streets and intersections such as Dollarway Road and state Highways 70 and Interstate 530.

Sanding the intersections is an added expense, he said, that includes vehicle usage, sand and often overtime for after-hours work, he said.

Still, he said, the streets have to remain open for police, fire and other emergency vehicles.

“We have gotten heavy snows in the past, but normally it’s a day or less” of light snow or ice on the roads, he said.

Most often it’s gone by the time the sun rises.

But on the off chance that the area gets more than just a little of the white stuff, the mayor asked motorists not to get out.

“When the weather is bad, I encourage people to stay home,” he said.