County road crews get ready for winter

Thursday Nov 05 2009 1:00 PM

Photo caption: The county has 28 trucks ready to deal with winter weather.

Pierce County road crews know it's only a matter of time before they will be fighting ice and snow again. They recently completed equipment testing and refresher training to be ready when the first storm hits.

"We're prepared for winter", said Bruce Wagner, road operations manager for Public Works and Utilities. "All our plows, sanders and anti-icing equipment are ready to go when we need them."

At their annual snow training day, employees participated in refresher training, reviewed emergency plans and drove snow plow routes.

County resources for managing snow and ice are sized to handle average winter storms, which in western Washington can be sporadic and unpredictable. During heavy storms, resources are directed toward clearing the high volume arterials and life-line routes that connect residential areas to highways, freeways, and key service centers. Once crews are caught up on these essential routes, they move into residential areas as needed.

During severe or prolonged storms, road crews work 12-hour shifts to provide 24-hour emergency response coverage. Besides plowing snow, crews apply anti-icing agents and traction salt or sand to hills, curves and major intersections.

This year, an additional contingency plan has been added. In the event that road crews are short staffed during a major storm due to an outbreak of the flu, licensed commercial driver employees from other county departments are being trained so they can assist with road clearing efforts if needed.

Road Operations' 24-hour response line is 253-798-6000.

Contact: Bruce Wagner, Pierce County Road Operations manager, 253-798-6051, or Hunter George, Pierce County Communication director, 253-798-6606, or hgeorge@co.pierce.wa.us

Find more Pierce County news at www.piercecountywa.org or follow us at twitter.com/pierceco.