While current forecasts indicate snowfall/winter precipitation totals will remain light, city crews will report at midnight to treat elevated surfaces such as bridges, hills and overpasses with brine (a salt/water mixture) to help prevent freezing.
Drivers are encouraged to be prepared and alert, as any change in conditions could disrupt travel.
The City of Tulsa has been preparing since late summer to ensure its equipment, personnel and salt and brine supplies are in place for the 2025-26 winter season. Crews closely monitor winter weather forecasts and activate resources as needed when the first signs of snow or ice appear.
The City of Tulsa is responsible for clearing snow and ice from the Gilcrease Expressway (except the Turnpike section), the L.L. Tisdale Expressway, and all arterial (main) roads. Other highway segments in Tulsa are maintained by the Oklahoma Department of Transportation.
When a winter event begins, the city’s goal is to get expressways and arterial roads safe and drivable as quickly as possible.
Available resources include:
- 66 trucks were equipped with salt spreading equipment
- Of the 66 trucks with spreaders, 53 are equipped with snow plows.
- 4 trucks fitted with Liquid Applicator (LAS) brine system and 3 mounted plows
- 7 4×4 pickup trucks equipped with snowplows
- 2 motor grader for use as plow
- Approximately 9,000 tons of salt (with more to be delivered)
- 2 brine mixing systems with 76,600 gallons of salt brine
- 2 tanks containing 3,000 gallons of 32 percent calcium chloride
- 210 employees (including drivers and support staff)
Crews are assigned to 36 specific routes totaling approximately 1,770 lane miles, approximately the distance from Tulsa to San Francisco. Spread and plowed routes are given priority based on traffic calculations. Once the main roads are cleared and conditions become favourable, select residential roads can be considered depending on traffic volume and steep hills.
During any winter weather response, the City’s main priorities include treatment of elevated surfaces and major arterial roads. Once those roads are cleared, the city works to clear residential or collector roads near hospitals, schools and areas with steep hills.
All city snow and ice routes, including arterial, collector, school and steep hill maps, are available at www.cityoftulsa.org/winterpreparedness.
Warming station and winter weather shelter
With cooler temperatures, the City of Tulsa encourages anyone who needs a safe and warm place to stay to visit one of Tulsa’s warming stations or area shelters.
Several shelters are currently open, including:
- John 3:16 Mission – 506 North Cheyenne Avenue, open 24/7
- Tulsa Day Center – 415 West Archer Street, open 24/7 (pets allowed with limited capacity)
- The Salvation Army, Downtown Tulsa – 102 North Denver Avenue, open 24/7
- Bee Herd Winter Weather Shelter, East Tulsa – 7216 East Admiral Place, open 24/7 (pets allowed, adults only)
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