LITTLE ROCK (KATV) – A winter storm system is expected to sweep across Arkansas on Thursday, prompting state officials to prepare for potentially dangerous conditions.

“Filling up all the trucks with salt and just talking everything through and especially watching the weather forecast because I think everyone agrees we’re going to get something essentially statewide Thursday through Friday,” said Dave Parker with the Arkansas Department of Transportation.

Parker said crews may begin pre-treating roads as early as Wednesday morning to get ahead of the storm.

The treatment, called superbrine, is a mixture of brine and beet juice.

“We use the beetroot juice combination in situations where the temperature is going to be very, very cold,” Parker said. “We’re trying to get the freezing temperature down, so that lower freezing temperature makes it harder to bond to the roadway no matter what we get, whether it’s snow, ice or sleet.”

For those planning a trip, Parker recommended checking IDriveArkansas.com for real-time information on road conditions.

“You also have access to 400 cameras. Information in real time. Shows you the road condition anywhere, whether the road is covered in snow or sleet, no matter what conditions you are dealing with. It shows snow plows and all sorts of things in real time,” Parker said.

Parker said more than 600 snowplows and trucks, as well as 75,000 cubic yards of salt, are ready for use across the state.