ODOT plow trucks ready for snow & ice

VW independent/submitted information

LIMA — The snow and ice crews of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s eight-county District 1 are prepared for the winter season following ODOT’s annual winter equipment inspection held this week.

While using traditional tools, such as rock salt, ODOT has combined them with newer chemical technology, equipment advances, and weather technology to provide the best response to each weather event.

Last winter, ODOT District 1 returned 99 percent of priority highways to normal driving speed within two hours after each winter event.

“This measurement is one of our statewide critical success factors — things we must do to be successful as an organization,” said District 1 Deputy Director Kirk Slusher.

According to Slusher, salt storage facilities in the district currently have the amount of salt needed to combat snow and ice for a typical northwest Ohio winter. District 1 currently has approximately 46,200 tons of salt, with 3,100 tons of salt stored in Van Wert County

The cost of salt has risen over the past year, Slusher added, noting that the average cost of salt this year is $64 a ton, versus last year’s average cost of $40 a ton.

Slusher noted that, during a typical winter, ODOT uses an average of 640,000 tons of salt and spends $56 million on snow and ice operations statewide.

During the most recent record-breaking winters, ODOT used nearly 1 million tons of salt and spent $120 million each in 2014 and 2015.

Over the past five years, District 1 has used an average of 48,000 tons of salt and spent an average of $6.8 million on snow and ice operations.

ODOT’s new full-time plow operators undergo extensive training prior to snow and ice season. Training includes:

80 hours of truck and loader school

40 hours of driving a truck accompanied by a veteran driver — 32 hours during daytime and 8 hours of nighttime driving

Training in the operation of front, belly, and wing plows

Instruction in proper salt application techniques

In addition, snow and ice classes are conducted within each work unit for full-time auxiliary and seasonal employees to review plowing techniques and safety. Seasonal drivers also receive a snow and ice refresher course of up to four hours within their work unit when they return each winter season.

This season, ODOT will have more than 1,600 plow trucks, 3,000 trained drivers, and 273 mechanics on call to clear ice and snow from Ohio’s roadways and bridges. ODOT maintains nearly 43,000 lane miles of state highway, which carries approximately two-thirds of the state’s daily traffic.

Last winter, ODOT employees drove 10.5 million miles throughout Ohio in snow and ice operations. In District 1, more than 848,000 miles were driven to maintain the district’s 3,360 lane miles of state highway.

ODOT District 1 has a total of 118 trucks for use during the snow and ice season, operated by 162 permanent employees and 40 seasonal employees. The trucks are maintained by 23 mechanics.

On average, District 1 adds up to eight new trucks and releases eight older model vehicles each year to keep the fleet modern and reliable. Every county in the district received a new truck this year. Van Wert County currently has a total of 13 trucks.

Some of the district’s trucks carry two plows, one on the front and a belly plow, while others also have a wing plow. Each plow has its application: the front plow for most all snow events, the belly plow for snow packed on the roadway, and the wing plow for clearing four-lane, highways, shoulders, ramps, and gore areas at interchanges.

According to Slusher, District 1 is in the third year of an effort to maximize effectiveness in snow and ice control. Referred to as “route optimization”, the effort involves addressing highways within a designated area during weather events, rather than each route independently.

About 90 percent of District 1 trucks are equipped with GPS/AVL (global positioning system/automatic vehicle location) units as part of a national research project. The units collect location, material, and equipment usage data to aid in storm management.

The use of the latest in chemical technology to combat snow and ice on roadways will be extensively deployed in the district this winter. These products are more effective at controlling ice conditions, versus just straight salt or salt brine, and can be more cost-effective. Those products include Beet Heet, Aqua Salina, XO-Melt2, and Boost.

ODOT also has a winter condition alert information website, www.ohgo.com, that is updated every morning, evening, and whenever a significant change warrants it to provide drivers with the best information possible. ODOT also has an OHGO official traffic app that delivers real-time traffic updates to smart phones. The app can be found at www.ohgo.com/app.

Drivers also need to remember that Ohio’s Move Over law requires that drivers on state highways move over a lane or, at the very least, slow down when approaching a stationary vehicle with flashing lights. The law still applies to ODOT workers, tow truck operators, utility workers, emergency responders, and law enforcement officers. No matter the color of the flashing lights, drivers need to move over to accommodate those vehicles.