By Tom Latek
Kentucky Today
Chilly mornings the last couple of days serve as a reminder that winter is not far off, and Kentucky Transportation Cabinet road crews are gearing up for snow and ice removal efforts.
Nearly 2,000 frontline crews, whose duties include maintaining safe travel on state routes, will be facing the first such season during a health pandemic.
“KYTC road crews are fellow Kentuckians committed to serving all of us when the elements are at their worst,” said Gov. Andy Beshear. “We all have to do our part to be good neighbors by following health guidance, like wearing masks and social distancing, to protect the men and women we’re counting on for essential services, like clearing snow, to keep us connected. We also have a role to play to help crews do their jobs efficiently whenever we’re behind the wheel.”
Snowplows are ready when snow hits Kentucky this winter. (Transportation Cabinet photo)
The “snow fighters” have been trained, salt and road treatment supplies restocked statewide, 1,024 plow trucks serviced and contingency plans are in place; all part of the state’s preparedness plan to respond to winter weather. This year’s planning has had to include the COVID-19 pandemic, which to date has killed more than 1,400 Kentuckians and also has the potential to sideline entire work crews.
“Snow and ice preparations begin long before the winter months and this year has been unique with a health crisis in play,” said Transportation Secretary Jim Gray. “We’ve done our best to see around the corner by planning how to keep our work crews as protected as possible from COVID, and also how to adapt plans to cover for crews that suddenly have to be taken out of rotation because of COVID.”
A statewide brigade of trucks and plows is ready for deployment before, during and after winter weather events, and a strike force of four additional plows is positioned for statewide deployment from Frankfort during major winter weather events. The cabinet is stocked with a supply of 375,000 tons of salt, 1.1 million gallons of brine for anti-icing efforts and 1 million gallons of calcium chloride, an additive to salt for deicing when temperatures fall below 20 degrees.
”Keeping Kentuckians connected to what matters most is a core value,” said State Highway Engineer James Ballinger. “Increased sanitation requirements during work shifts and the potential for COVID to impact our workforce may result in delays to treat all state routes. If conditions demand, we will focus on shifting resources to ensure traffic can move safely on key routes, like those that provide Kentuckians access to life-saving services and maintain cross-county travel.”
KYTC uses a three-tier system to prioritize treatment and snow clearing on state-maintained routes. Route designations are based on factors, such as traffic volume and connectivity to critical services, like hospitals. During routine snow and ice events, crews operate using snow and ice priority route maps for maximum efficiency of equipment and material usage. For severe winter storm events, the cabinet has established a snow emergency plan to deploy resources within each county as needed to cover high-priority routes.
“We ask Kentuckians to partner with us by paying attention to weather advisories, limiting trips during poor weather conditions and showing our crews grace as we make necessary adjustments brought on by the pandemic. This is uncharted territory, and we will get through this together,” Gray said.
To find the snow and ice removal priority routes in your county, go to this website.
