Crews Work Long Hours To Keep Roads Clear
February 15, 2021 at 11:34 p.m.
Crews Work Long Hours To Keep Roads Clear
By Amanda Bridgman-
Amos Dotson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service North Webster post, predicted Monday between 8 and 10 inches of snow will have fallen by this morning. Dotson said the next chance for snow is Thursday, but confidence on that prediction is low.
All of this snow means the streets have to be cleared.
Kosciusko County Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty said his department busted out the V plow for the first time this year on Monday to clear the roads.
“We haven’t had to use them before this year, and they’re used for opening roads and handling large amounts of snow,” Moriarty said. “What happens with the 8 to 10 inches and plus the 20 mph gusts that they’re calling for, those can easily close roads very quickly, especially out in the country, so we’re bringing in our trucks and making sure they’re ready to go.”
The County Highway Department will have 26 drivers out to cover 1,163 miles of roadway, Moriarty said. “That’s a lot of roads. That’s like plowing to Fort Myers, Florida, and back in an eight-hour day.”
Each driver averages about 50 miles per route. On Monday, the drivers will have worked a nine-hour day, then the department puts a plow at each fire station in case of any fire calls or EMS runs, Moriarty said.
In those cases, a plow will lead the way to the fire, with a firefighter in the plow with the driver.
The crew spent the night at the new County Highway Department buildings Monday in their new bunks. The building is equipped with not only bunks but showers, locker rooms and a full kitchen.
“We’ll stay tonight for emergencies,” Moriarty said. The drivers then resume their routes at 4 a.m. today.
The County Highway Department uses a salt and sand mix on the majority of the roads they cover, but on major roads they use just salt, Moriarty said.
“One of the biggest things is sometimes with this wind, when we plow over a road and the wind will shut it back before we get to the other end. Hopefully, the wind will die down around 10 a.m. (today),” Moriarty said. “We understand that people have to go to work and that people have jobs, so we just ask for their patience a little bit when you see a plow truck. We try to slow down, but if we’re into a drift it’s hard to slow down because we could get stuck as well.”
Dustin Dillon, superintendent of the Warsaw Street Department, said he’s been tracking this storm for days.
“That’s a lot of planning that goes into it,” Dillon said Monday.
The city will have 16 drivers out for this storm and are running 12-hour shifts.
The city uses a liquid saltwater brine to help activate the salt they put down, Dillon said. “Normal salt will only work until about 8 degrees and then it just sits there,” Dillon said, adding with the wet kit added in the salt will work down to minus 16 degrees.
Dillon said whenever it snows this much, motorists are asked to try to avoid parking on the city streets so plows can clear the snow.
“Just with the amount of snow coming in, it’ll be almost impossible from burying cars that are parked on the street,” he said. “Planning’s a big part of it, but the team of men and women, we have 34 people total at the street department, so they have to go out and execute the plan as well, and they’ve done a phenomenal job all year in taking a lot of pride in their job.”
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Amos Dotson, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service North Webster post, predicted Monday between 8 and 10 inches of snow will have fallen by this morning. Dotson said the next chance for snow is Thursday, but confidence on that prediction is low.
All of this snow means the streets have to be cleared.
Kosciusko County Highway Superintendent Steve Moriarty said his department busted out the V plow for the first time this year on Monday to clear the roads.
“We haven’t had to use them before this year, and they’re used for opening roads and handling large amounts of snow,” Moriarty said. “What happens with the 8 to 10 inches and plus the 20 mph gusts that they’re calling for, those can easily close roads very quickly, especially out in the country, so we’re bringing in our trucks and making sure they’re ready to go.”
The County Highway Department will have 26 drivers out to cover 1,163 miles of roadway, Moriarty said. “That’s a lot of roads. That’s like plowing to Fort Myers, Florida, and back in an eight-hour day.”
Each driver averages about 50 miles per route. On Monday, the drivers will have worked a nine-hour day, then the department puts a plow at each fire station in case of any fire calls or EMS runs, Moriarty said.
In those cases, a plow will lead the way to the fire, with a firefighter in the plow with the driver.
The crew spent the night at the new County Highway Department buildings Monday in their new bunks. The building is equipped with not only bunks but showers, locker rooms and a full kitchen.
“We’ll stay tonight for emergencies,” Moriarty said. The drivers then resume their routes at 4 a.m. today.
The County Highway Department uses a salt and sand mix on the majority of the roads they cover, but on major roads they use just salt, Moriarty said.
“One of the biggest things is sometimes with this wind, when we plow over a road and the wind will shut it back before we get to the other end. Hopefully, the wind will die down around 10 a.m. (today),” Moriarty said. “We understand that people have to go to work and that people have jobs, so we just ask for their patience a little bit when you see a plow truck. We try to slow down, but if we’re into a drift it’s hard to slow down because we could get stuck as well.”
Dustin Dillon, superintendent of the Warsaw Street Department, said he’s been tracking this storm for days.
“That’s a lot of planning that goes into it,” Dillon said Monday.
The city will have 16 drivers out for this storm and are running 12-hour shifts.
The city uses a liquid saltwater brine to help activate the salt they put down, Dillon said. “Normal salt will only work until about 8 degrees and then it just sits there,” Dillon said, adding with the wet kit added in the salt will work down to minus 16 degrees.
Dillon said whenever it snows this much, motorists are asked to try to avoid parking on the city streets so plows can clear the snow.
“Just with the amount of snow coming in, it’ll be almost impossible from burying cars that are parked on the street,” he said. “Planning’s a big part of it, but the team of men and women, we have 34 people total at the street department, so they have to go out and execute the plan as well, and they’ve done a phenomenal job all year in taking a lot of pride in their job.”
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