ODOT maintenance crews throughout the Rogue Valley use different tools – plowing, chemicals and sanding materials – to stay ahead of the winter weather. For example, crews apply chemicals and sanding material on hills, curves, structures, and known trouble spots. Chemicals are used both as an anti-icer, before the storm to help prevent ice from forming on the road surface, and as a deicer, after the storm to help break the bond between ice and the road surface.