CLEVELAND — Winter is coming.
Although Halloween hasn’t even arrived, the Ohio Department of Transportation is busy preparing for snow and ice with more than 300,000 tons of salt ready to go.
ODOT says more than 60 mechanics “are busy doing 150-point checks from the plow blade to the salt spinner of each of the more than 400 trucks in the Northeast Ohio fleet.”
Here in Northeast Ohio, ODOT uses nearly 650 drivers who often work 12-hour shifts during snow and ice events.
“While most are full-time drivers, many are hired seasonally,” according to ODOT. “This team maintains more than nearly 13,000 lane miles of state and U.S. routes outside municipalities and all interstates in 17 counties, except the Ohio Turnpike.”
ODOT also uses auxiliary drivers, who are full-time ODOT employees who normally do other tasks and only plow snow when needed.
“ODOT’s goal is to have primary routes back up to speed within two hours and secondary routes within four hours of the end of a snow event,” according to ODOT’s press release. “Last winter, crews hit that goal 98.3% percent of the time.”
ODOT says they are currently working to recruit more plow drivers and mechanics. Interested? You can apply HERE.
Last winter, ODOT says crews in Northeast Ohio drove 1.8 million miles while using 146,000 tons of salt and 3.1 million gallons of liquid deicers.
And once those plows start showing up on the streets, remember the saying: Don’t crowd the plow.
“A total of 22 plow trucks were struck last winter statewide, down from 26 the previous winter,” ODOT says. “When these crashes occur, it takes important snow-fighting equipment off the road, forcing other plows in the area to extend their routes. It is very important that drivers give crews plenty of room to work.”
