Snowplow crews vanquish snowstorm

DAVE MOSIER/independent editor

After three days of fighting snow, ice, winds and subzero temperatures, snowplow drivers finally have a handle on the storms that dumped a total of 15 inches on Van Wert County over the weekend.

Both Van Wert County Engineer Kyle Wendel and Don Taylor, manager of the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Van Wert County operations, had positive reports when contacted on Wednesday afternoon.

Wendel said county roads were clear of drifting snow by Wednesday afternoon, although there was packed snow on some roadways. Taylor noted that primary highways were looking good, although secondary roads still needed some work, as of Wednesday.

Both said the storm provided some challenges not seen for awhile, especially the subzero temperatures that came in after the storm.

“It was a constant battle keeping trucks up and running,” Taylor said, while commending his mechanics for doing an excellent job of maintaining the ODOT snowplow fleet.

Wendel agreed that the subzero temperatures presented some big challenges to his department – especially in keeping snowplows out on the road – but said his mechanics were up to the challenge.

Wind was also a problem for snowplows, Taylor and Wendel said, since it made it extremely difficult keeping roads open because of drifting, while white-outs limited visibility to a few feet at times.

The drifting could have been worse, though, since the wet, heavy snow of this storm doesn’t lend itself as much to drifting as the light snow that fell during the Great Blizzard of 1978. Light snow from that storm, coupled with 60-70 mph winds, pushed drifts as high as the roofs of houses in rural areas of the county.

Icy roads exacerbated by the frigid temperatures was also a problem on state and U.S. highways, Taylor said, forcing ODOT to add calcium chloride solution to snowplow brine tanks in an effort to melt the ice.

“We started really treating it (on Tuesday),” Taylor said, noting that the solution can melt ice at temperatures of 25 below – something ice alone can’t do.

There were other challenges as well. Wendel said a number of his crews were hampered by stranded vehicles that ventured out even after Sheriff Thomas Riggenbach declared the county under a snow emergency. “It was very frustrating,” the county engineer noted, adding that the stranded vehicles created delays because crews needed to tow vehicles before they could proceed with plowing, while also causing hazardous conditions for both snowplow drivers and motorists.

“I was very concerned for their safety,” Wendel said of stranded motorists, while also acknowledging the frustrations those motorists caused his snowplow crews.

Taylor said ODOT crews didn’t have as many problems with stranded motorists, noting that traffic was practically non-existent after the snow emergency was declared.

ODOT did have some other challenges, though, including a snowplow rollover on Ohio 118, but Taylor said conditions were manageable.

“I’ve seen worse, but I’ve been here 25 years,” Taylor said, while adding, “It wasn’t easy; it was very challenging.”

Meanwhile, temperatures projected into the high 20s for today and the 30s tomorrow should help snowplow crews in getting all roads in good condition. In fact, forecasters are predicting a chance of rain and temps in the high 30s and low 40s over the weekend.