ODOT tackles first big snow of the season

The first major snow of the winter hit our area this week and plows and salt trucks were out in full force.

When winter weather is about to hit, it is all hands on deck at the ODOT garage in Allen county, and they make sure they plan ahead.

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"We'll be plowing, treating, and we have liquid in all of our trucks so they'll be spraying brine along with the salt," said Brian Rader, Transportation Manager for ODOT District 1. "We started yesterday going through the trucks and then we brought our first crew in at 7 this morning and they finished going through the trucks, getting them loaded, and then it started snowing finally."

Once the snow starts falling, the trucks hit the state roads clearing snow and treating the pavement but usually in plowing conditions it takes time to see the effects.

"Right now, I'd say the road conditions are slick, snow-covered, and people need to use caution out and about," said Highway Tech 2 Mary Lemaster. "It takes time to clear the road, is what it is. Getting salt down, getting the treatment on it, and it takes a little bit for it to work."

Busier roads tend to be easier to clear because the cars are there to work the salt into the roads, but that same traffic can also create problems for the plow drivers.

"[The] traveling public, cars; they tailgate, they crowd you, and that's about the biggest issue we have is the motoring public not giving us room to do our job."

But, Lemaster says, most shifts go by without an issue and it is rewarding work knowing that her time is spent keeping the roads as safe as they can be in the winter weather.