GEORGETOWN, Ky. – Crews at the Scott County Road Department started preparing for Wednesday’s winter weather well in advance of the storm. The crews are responsible for salting and plowing 290 linear miles of roads – for a total of nearly 600 miles – in the 284-square-mile county. The department’s 16 trucks made four trips and dropped around 600 total tons of salt.
What You Need To Know
- Nearly 600 tons of salt spread on average in preparation for winter storm
- Workers on call 24/7
- Route takes around four hours and is driven multiple times
- Sixteen trucks cover nearly 600 miles of roads
Scott County Road Department Director J.R. Brandenburg said he and his team keep a close eye on the weather in the days leading up to a winter storm, and as soon as snow or ice begins, the crews head out on their dedicated routes for a trip that lasts about four hours before coming back to the lot, reloading and getting ready to do it again.
“We knew this was coming in the last several days,” Brandenburg said. “We got here at 6:30 in the morning. When it's going to snow, or giving chances of snow, we get very little sleep, me, my management team, and our drivers. We spend the day prior to a storm going over all the trucks, making sure they are in good running condition with lights and working with no leaks, making sure they're full of fuel -- we don't want to break down.”
The Scott County Road Department has 18 drivers that spread about 150 tons of salt on each run. Shane Wirth, 43, has been working for the department for six years. He had already made one four-hour run Wednesday morning on his dedicated route, which runs northwest from Georgetown through Stamping Ground to the Franklin County line. He was leaving the road lot on Betsy Way around 1:30 p.m. for his second trip carrying 10 tons of salt in his single-axle dump truck.
“There are some tight spots and a lot to pay attention to on these roads,” Wirth said. “We have to be extremely careful when we turn around and watch for other traffic. A lot of people might think we don’t have to worry about a lot of things, but this job is a lot harder than many people think. Mostly, we have to make sure we watch out for other people.”
Using common sense is essential, Wirth said, such as salting bridges and steep slopes twice, but having a dedicated route is also a benefit because it allows the drivers to become familiar with sections of roads that need more attention.
“We know the spots that need salted or plowed more than others,” Wirth said. “I’ve been doing this same route for three years and when it’s really bad, we can spend 12 or 16 hours a day in a truck. There’s a lot of danger in plowing snow, but we know the roads and if we take our time, we’ll be fine.”
Wirth was making the second pass on the last road on his route Wednesday when the freezing rain began falling. It solidified something he already knew: A long night was ahead.
“We are on call 24/7,” he said. “Weather doesn’t recognize holidays or know what day it is. I’ll probably have to go back out two more times tonight, which means I’ll likely just sleep at the shop.”
Brandenburg said even with all the preparation and work, the severity of the storm can supersede their efforts.
“You can only do so much, like keeping the salt on the roads, and trying to react as best as you can,” he said. “Sometimes it works better than others and the salt and temperature play a big role in it. We're going to fight this tonight, whatever happens. We have been through twice today putting salt down and we're hoping and keeping our fingers crossed. It's going to help us out in the long run and we'll hit it twice tonight if we need to. We're just going to see what comes about.”