TULSA, Okla. — By 11 a.m. on Dec. 1, EMSA said it had responded to 35 accidents in the Tulsa metro due to a forecasted wintry mix that made roads very slick in parts of town, particularly on bridges and overpasses, which freeze faster.
EMSA added that the number of accidents is eight times higher than usual.
WATCH: Why were Tulsa’s highways not pretreated ahead of black ice event?:
Reaction online is pointing directly at the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. One user on X calling the agency’s lack of pretreating the highways and interstates an “epic failure.” Another user on X posted, “Every one of you should be fired.”
ODOT admits pretreatment was not applied in Tulsa or Oklahoma City “due to forecasts trending lighter to no precipitation.”
As of late Sunday, 2 News still had precipitation forecasts and warned viewers of dangerous driving conditions.
“The moisture is still slated to come in tomorrow morning, and it could be a messy situation,” said Meteorologist Brandon Wholey during the Sunday evening broadcast.
Meanwhile, the City of Tulsa reported no major issues on city streets. Tim McCorkell, Streets Maintenance Manager, said they prepped crews last week for potential problems. They got the brine crews out at midnight to treat the streets.
“We addressed all of the city streets; anything the City of Tulsa takes care of with brine solution, therefore, we didn’t have any issues on the city streets,” said McCorkell. “The highways through the city are ODOT’s responsibility; we do not address those.”
ODOT’s full statement:
“The Oklahoma Department of Transportation mobilized crews early Monday morning into the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metro areas to treat the elevated highway, interstate bridges, and overpasses that experienced a “black ice” event. Pretreatment was not applied due to forecasts trending lighter to no precipitation in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metros. Crews will continue operations until all interstates and highways are clear.”
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