A winter storm is headed to North Carolina and crews are preparing the roads for potential snow and ice.

Related article: Snow and ice are in the forecast for N.C. Here's the latest

Department of Transportation officials provided an update on storm prep Wednesday afternoon, saying they have around 14,000 tons of salt ready to go for prepping roads. NCDOT is responsible for 15,000 miles of lanes in North Carolina.

Transportation crews started treating roads Wednesday morning and will continue to brine roads through Friday afternoon. Salt trucks will be out during rush hour Wednesday providing as much coverage as possible before the storm moves in. 

The biggest challenge regarding roads will be freezing rain, according to DOT leaders. 

“The snow and ice will fall into pavement structure and when that happens it’s a tough day for everybody,” DOT leaders said. 

There are two salt brine plants in North Carolina that can produce 320 gallons of brine per minute, so running out of brine is not an issue.

“We put it out slower than we can actually manufacture it here,” DOT leaders said. 

Snow is expected to spread across the western half of North Carolina Friday afternoon and into parts of the eastern half of the state through Friday night.

Locations near the coast will see a quick changeover to rain while others may see the snow become a wintry mix.

The highest snow accumulations are expected in the mountains.