SPRINGFIELD, Mass. (WWLP) – The ice we saw Wednesday morning left the roads a slippery challenge for drivers. 22News asked local crews why it’s so hard to prepare for icy conditions and were DPW crews ready for the ice?

Springfield’s Deputy Director of Operations Vinny DeSantis said they had drivers on standby Wednesday morning for the ice preparing for what wound up being a dangerous ride for many drivers.

Jose Corea of Northampton woke up at 5:00 a.m. Wednesday morning, “It was very icy, my car was icy.” He said even though he had a short drive, he still saw the rough road conditions that many other drivers faced.

It was an even earlier morning for Springfield DPW drivers. DeSantis told 22News employees arrived at 3:00 a.m.

“As soon as it started misting, we started hitting the routes,” said DeSantis. However, that mist turned instantly to ice when it made contact with the roads, leaving many drivers with a slippery mess. DeSantis said that instantaneous hit is what made things complicated.

You may have wondered while you were driving out: ‘Why didn’t they pretreat in advance?” The Springfield DPW says it’s not that simple.

“If you sand them ahead of time, the traffic pushes all the sand to the curb and it doesn’t do nothing in the curb line,” said DeSantis.

David Nehring of Haydenville has a son whose just started driving and today he was going from Haydenville to school in Holyoke. David wanted to make sure his son took things slow, “He said, “Wow. When I go on 91, I go 55?’ I said no! You’ve got to go slower than that.”

Desantis said driving slow in these conditions can be key to stay safe on the road.