HASTINGS, Neb. (KSNB) – The Hastings Public Works Department uses several pieces of technology and communication with city officials during their snow removal process.
The crews prepare ahead by getting their salt and sand mixtures ready to go, fastening plows and fueling up.
Public Works Lead Engineer Steve Riehle said the preparation starts the day before a major snow storm.
”Part of it is mental preparedness to know that you might have to get up really, really early and you may have a long day ahead of you,” Riehle said. “We got to make sure everything starts, everything’s fueled. We get ready to go out either bright and early in the morning or the middle of the night.”
He also said the crews rely on many pieces of technology before the storm in order to help determine if and when they need to be out.
”We, like everyone else will watch the weather on the internet and on the TV stations, we’ll listen to the National Weather Service Forecasts,” Riehle said. “We’ll also use the snowplow trackers that the Department of Transportation has with the cameras on them because that gives us a pretty good picture of what’s coming and where it’s at.”
Riehle said another important piece of technology the crews use is an ice melting mixture and how it works depends on the temperature outside.
”The primary one that we use in the city of Hastings is a salt and sand mix,” Riehle said. “The sand gives us some traction and it’s also like sand paper and can break up that ice that’s on the road and then the other thing that we use is salt mixed in with it. It’s a 50-50 blend or close to a 50-50 blend of salt and sand and the salt helps when the temperature is there.”
He also said once all of the prep work is done, there’s a lot of communication that takes place with city officials before crews hit the road.
”Our trigger to go out and plow the snow and emergency snow routes is generally three inches,” Riehle said. “It depends on the type of snow, is it a wet snow, is it a blowing snow, but even before that, we’re checking the intersections and working with the police department to get their eyes and ears on the streets and we’ll send out the salt and sand trucks if things start getting slippery before we start snow removal.”
Riehle also advises drivers to be careful if you see plows out and about doing their jobs and give plenty of distance between yourself and the vehicles when passing. You should also keep back about 100 feet or more from vehicles that are spreading salt.
To check out the crews at work during the snow storm you can check out the City of Hastings website.
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