With winter weather just around the corner, the Missouri Department of Transportation will hold its annual winter operations drill on Thursday, Oct. 16. Motorists may notice an increased number of MoDOT vehicles on state routes during the drill, which will begin at 8 a.m. in rural areas and 9 a.m. in urban areas. The exercise should be completed by 3 p.m. According to a press release MoDOT has approximately 2,400 snowplow operators across the state involved in clearing the roads and bridges when winter weather hits.