Article Photos

If anyone in Warren County needed a reminder of winter, they got it in mid-October.

PennDOT did not need that reminder.

The department has goals set out for its winter preparations.

"We started Oct. 1," Maintenance Manager Wes Hess said. "We met our goal of being 50 percent ready by Oct. 15. We were ready for that couple inches of snow."

It takes about two days to get a truck ready for winter duty.

The summer version of a truck has no special equipment, but for winter, they have plows and other attachments, Hess said.

After the 50 percent goal for Oct. 15, the next target was Nov. 1.

"We've met that goal," Hess said on Friday. "We've transitioned from summer work to winter. We're at 100 percent of our trucks with the plows, wings, spreaders and salt-brine tanks. They're all assembled, calibrated and ready to go."

He urges motorists to make sure their vehicles, too, are prepared for winter, with snow tires, a handy snow brush, and appropriate windshield wipers.

Now that the trucks are ready, the next step is getting the drivers in winter mode. That process is under way.

"Our crews are all set up for the a.m and the p.m. shifts," Hess said. Motorists "may see some snowplows out traveling around fully equipped."

Drivers will be getting used to the feel of the trucks while conditions are good and getting chances to see the hazards and areas of concern on their routes without a blanket of snow.

The trucks are ready and so are the materials they need to deliver.

"All of our salt bins are full," Hess said. "Our anti-skid quantities are all in. We've been making salt brine and it's been delivered to all of the outlying stockpiles."

"The smart bridge has been serviced, it's full of salt brine and it's firing as needed for frosty conditions," he said.

PennDOT offers travelers advice on weather and traffic at www.511pa.com.

That the department is ready for winter means it is not ready for summer.

"The downside of all this winter preparedness we are not able to do summer maintenance," Hess said.

The department will hold a winter preparedness meeting for police and government agencies at 7 p.m. Thursday at the Garland Fire Hall.

"We invite the Pennsylvania State Police, Warren City Police, school districts," Hess said. Representatives of municipal governments are welcome, as well.

At the meeting, officials will hear "who's responsible for what," he said.