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Road crews stay ahead of winter onslaught
(by Sue Reid - February 09, 2011)
Road crews stay ahead of winter onslaught
By SUE REID
Aggressive forecasting and planning this winter have enabled the Solon Service Department to battle the weather, such as last week's ice storm, more efficiently, Service Director Thomas Bandiera said.
"I think we achieved our success this year by utilizing all the different snow and ice technologies we've been working toward over the last four to five years," he said. "We've been constantly trying to improve our process, do things more efficiently and have better response times."
Although it is not always easy to do, Mr. Bandiera said, his department tries its best to forecast and predict weather events to be proactive in its approach.
"There have been times this year, last week's ice storm being one of them, where we came out before the storm and pretreated the roads," he said. The roads were pretreated with mixed liquids of brine and beet juice, he said. As a result, when the snow and ice hit, the city was at an advantage, Mr. Bandiera said.
"We sprayed that on the road prior to the snow, so, when it does finally snow and you get moisture on the road, it rehydrates the materials," he said. "It goes on the road and dries." That results in the white lines on the highway, he said. "We were able to scrape those areas right down to bare pavement, which in turn saved us money," he said. "It reduced salt usage during the storm."
That is the definition of "anti-icing" and a proactive approach to snow and ice, he said. It's different from "de-icing," he said, where the snow and ice are on the road before the crews get rid of it. "You'll always have de-icing, but a good amount of anti-icing saves money," he said.
Mr. Bandiera said every snow is different, and, therefore, different tactics are used for each event.
"We're managing all of our resources, and that's a battle," he said. The people on the trucks need to be rotated to ensure that they're well rested, Mr. Bandiera said. At the same time, stock piles are being managed, he said.
"There's a lot going on, and it requires a tremendous amount of dedication and discipline on the employees' part with the winter we've had," Mr. Bandiera said. "It's a lot of sacrifice," he said. "It's been a tough winter."
Solon experienced its first snow of the season at the beginning of November. Mr. Bandiera said a tally of every storm event and the numbers associated with it are kept. It includes hours worked and the amount of salt used, he said.
"It's been a bad winter, and we've been at it constantly," Mr. Bandiera said. "We hope it ends soon," he said.
"We're really pleased with the way the whole team has done down here," he said. "Everyone's been healthy, and we haven't had a big rash of flu." He said the department has routine safety meetings, which focus on how employees need to take care of themselves.
Some 43 service department employees wotk the plows, but that does not include mechanics, managers or office staff, Mr. Bandiera said.
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