ODOT District 11 prepares fleet for wintertime action
NEW PHILADELPHIA (WJER) (Oct. 31, 2022) – On what felt like a soggy spring morning, the Ohio Department of Transportation is showing it’s set for the temperature to drop.
ODOT held its annual winter readiness event at the District 11 headquarters’ garage in New Philadelphia today.
Spokeswoman Lauren Borell says their 20 trucks go through 150-point inspections. Mechanics look at the plows, salt-spreaders, wipers, brake lights, and much more.
“There’s always something little here and there that might need adjusted, fixed, or replaced to head out there but, overall, we’re in really good shape,” Borell said.
Borell says it’s necessary since the trucks are depended on year-round.
“During the summertime, they are used for our berming work, or we put brushes on the front of them so when we’re doing tree-trimming type work, we can brush the roads off with them,” said Borell.
Borell says ODOT trucks are responsible for 17 snow routes covering 583 lane miles in Tuscarawas County. Those include interstate, state, and U.S. routes outside of cities and municipalities.
Even though it’s been close to freezing at night earlier in the month, ODOT’s trucks haven’t had to respond to anything yet.
“One thing we look at more so than the air temperature, we’re looking at our pavement temperatures,” she said.
Borell says District 11 has been fully stocked on salt since July, with just under 18,000 tons on hand in Tuscarawas County alone.
