As New Yorkers in parts of the state prepare for a significant winter storm, the state Department of Transportation is sending crew members from the Hudson Valley and elsewhere to help manage the roads in Western New York.

Heather Pillsworth, public information officer for the DOT in the Hudson Valley, said 26 crews deployed to Buffalo at around 5 a.m. Thursday. She said crews are more than prepared for this.

“This is something we train for all year long. We train for the emergencies. We can do this. We're confident that these roads will be cleared as quickly as possible and ready for the holidays next week,” said Pillsworth.

Deputy Regional Director Nikhil Natarajan said the crews go through extensive training, not only for the licenses they need to drive the trucks, but also to plow because it can be very dangerous.

“They go through hours and hours of training with our equipment operator instructors, and get not only hands-on practice during storms in other parts of the state, but also, once we get storms here, they'll get trained, they'll get evaluated,” said Natarajan.

Natarajan said the preparation that goes into it consists of getting their vehicles ready for the winter.

“Everything is checked as we get into the fall season to make sure before that when the first snowfall hits, we're ready to go,” said Natarajan.

Natarajan said they expect to see a lot of snow clearance work over the next few days.

“And then as that starts to wind down when the storm passes, it's really going to be a lot of snow removal. Once we've cleared the roads and we've made it safe for the traveling public, that's a matter of getting rid of snow and getting off the side of the roads so they can start additional clearance of drains and sidewalks and things along those lines. So, this operation will be going on for a while and we'll make sure our teams are there to support the county, the city, local municipalities and the driving public as long as we're needed,” said Natarajan.

According to the DOT, it already sent over 112 staff members across the state to assist with the storm.