ODOT completes 2011 winter inspections

Van Wert independent/ODOT information

Can winter be far behind when the Ohio Department of Transportation begins the process of inspecting its trucks and other equipment in preparation for the coming snow and ice that coats state highways each year?

“Snow and ice removal is one of our core services and is vital to keeping Ohioans safe and our economy running each winter,” said ODOT Director Jerry Wray. “Our county garages do a great job to make sure our equipment is fully operational and ready to plow the roads.”

On Tuesday, ODOT District 1 mechanics performed their annual inspection of trucks, snowplows and other ice- and snow removal equipment and Van Wert and the other seven counties that make up the district: Allen, Defiance, Hancock, Hardin, Paulding, Putnam and Wyandot.

District mechanics perform a 142-point inspection, including brakes, lights, fluids and other important safety and mechanical items, on the approximately 120 snowplows in the district.

“We’ve officially made the transition into winter mode when our equipment inspections are completed,” said Kirk Slusher, ODOT District 1 deputy director. “Winter brings out the best in our workforce because we enjoy serving the public by keeping local highways as clear of snow and ice as possible.”

“Our mechanics implement a very strict inspection of each piece of equipment,” said Division of Operations Deputy Director Sonja Simpson. “Winter readiness events are vital to our overall winter maintenance strategy to certify each snowplow, truck and spreader is ready.”

Besides equipment, another critical element to ODOT’s snow-fighting arsenal is salt. Earlier this year, ODOT was able to save nearly $2 million — roughly $2 a ton — on its annual salt purchase. The savings were realized thanks to a change in Ohio law that now gives ODOT flexibility to purchase salt from a variety of vendors, making the sale bids more competitive.

“This is the first time I can remember in 20 years that salt prices have dropped,” said Don Taylor, Van Wert County manager.

Taylor said he was pleased with the readiness of equipment in Van Wert County, including the county garage’s 15 trucks, and also said he feels the county is in good shape at the present time when it comes to salt supplies.

The county has 3,583 tons of salt on hand as of October, Taylor said, noting that, in 2010-2011, the county used 4,649 tons of salt the entire winter. Taylor predicts this winter will be similar to last year in salt usage.

According to ODOT records, the highest salt usage in the county came during the 2007-2008 winter, when a total of 7,510 tons were used on state highways in Van Wert County.

ODOT tracks the amount of salt used per snow or ice event, as well as the average number of events in a typical winter. In District 1, snow and ice events average 24 a winter, with 1,162 tons of salt used districtwide for each event.

Winter also results in an increase in labor hours for ODOT workers who often put in long hours out on snow- and ice-covered state highways. Last winter, Van Wert ODOT garage employees put in 7,721 labor hours, while the district labor hours totaled 63,721 over the winter — the highest districtwide total for any winter for which ODOT District 1 has records, although Van Wert County had more labor hours (7,854) during the 2007-2008 winter season.