ROCHESTER, N.Y. – You may remember the movie or the book from a number of years ago called, The Bridges of Madison County. Now, we are talking about the bridges of Monroe County. Maybe it is single lane bridge in a rural area or four lane bridge in the suburbs, they all have one thing in common in that a bridge will usually see a drop in the temperature a much faster rate than a regular road surface.

The concern is when traveling any of these tributaries during the course of our day the temperature can get close to freezing this time of the year. We need to remember there is a difference in the temperature between the bridge and the connecting roadway. For example, the road could be at 37 degrees (above freezing), but the road is only cooling down from one side – the top side. The bridge has cold air coming from the top and the bottom of the bridge and this can accelerate rate of cooling. As a result, the temperature can reach below freezing several hours before the roadway. In this case, an untreated bridge can be a surprise threat when doing sixty miles per hour.

Over the next few days the News10NBC First Alert meteorologists are forecasting the temperature will be below freezing Wednesday night, Thursday and Friday. Here are a couple of reminders when driving during the cold season. When reaching the bridge, instead of jamming on the brakes try to just ease off the gas petal. This one tip can reduce your chances of going into a skid just because you want to reduce your speed too quickly. Naturally, increasing your traveling time and reducing your overall speed can make a difference.  And there is something to be said for eliminating the “element of surprise” and knowing how the atmosphere can change the road conditions. 

As one of my friends likes to say, let’s just keep It between the lines!