In the wake of ice and snow that covered East Tennessee Monday and early Tuesday, City of Knoxville crews will continue to focus on clearing City streets today.

The Public Service Department is following the City's Snow Plan, which prioritizes streets for treatment and allocates resources for maximum effectiveness. The top priorities Sunday, Monday and overnight were the Level I and II streets - those that carry the most traffic and provide access to hospitals and emergency services.

"With Level I streets clear, our focus today will be on Level II and Level III streets," said Public Service Director David Brace. "We hope that our plowing and salting efforts combined with slightly warmer temperatures and sunny weather will help to clear off as many Level II and some Level III streets as possible before the temperatures drop this evening and into Wednesday morning."

Waste Connections, the City's household garbage and recycling contractor, will not be operating today due to dangerous neighborhood-level roads. Garbage and recycling collections will resume on Wednesday, weather permitting, and then run on a one-day schedule delay for the remainder of the week.

The City's 311 Call Center is open today, and residents are encouraged to call in reports of downed trees on roads or other public safety hazards.

The Knoxville Police Department has advised that many smaller streets remain hazardous, and travel is discouraged unless absolutely necessary.

The City will be collecting garbage and recycling today within the Central Business Improvement District, and the City's Solid Waste Management Facility at 1033 Elm St. is also open today. There will not be any brush collection today or Wednesday.

Since the start of the weather event on Monday, City crews have used 1,003 tons of rock salt and 1,700 gallons of calcium chloride (liquid calcium that helps activate salt at lower temperatures). The City was resupplied with 200 tons of salt on Monday and has another 200 tons scheduled for resupply today. The Public Service Department has ordered an additional 800 tons of salt from its vendor as quickly as they can deliver it, along with another 1,700 gallons of liquid calcium.

City crews have already responded to more than 50 downed tree calls. Arbor crews will be responding to calls throughout the day.