Lots of equipment needed to keep roads snow-free

SHAWANO — What does it take to keep Shawano County drivers on the road in the winter?

When snow falls, the Shawano County Highway Department responds with 44 drivers to plow 1,750 “lane miles.”

The department’s drivers, mechanics and support staff “take a lot of pride in what they do in providing the best level of service to the general public,” said Grant Bystol, Shawano County highway commissioner.

He explained a “lane mile” is used because a plow only does one lane at a time.

When the winter plowing season starts on Dec. 1 of every year, Bystol said the department has staff coverage 24 hours per day, working in seven-day shifts. About 64 of the department’s 72 full-time and part-time employees are assigned to snowplowing chores and other winter maintenance.

Drivers are on unpaid call at night while a “nighttime watchman” monitors conditions, particularly on state roads, Bystol said. The watchman also performs miscellaneous maintenance overnight.

Bystol added the county’s most seasoned operators work on state and county roads. “We wouldn’t throw a first-time driver out on Highway 29” with its high traffic volumes, he said.

The county covers 515 miles of state highways under a contract negotiated annually with the state Department of Transportation, about 600 lane miles of county roads and about 635 lane miles of township roads, also under contract.

Roads have different standards. The state calls for 24-hour monitoring and response to a snowfall for four-lane highways like Highway 29.

“That doesn’t mean bare pavement, but we’re not going to let it pile up to inches,” he added.

Two-lane state highways are under an 18-hour monitoring standard. Although plowing is not required from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m., Bystol said the snowplows are usually out by 3 a.m. and then come off the road a little earlier.

Use of salt also varies. DOT specifies only granular salt or brine are to be used. County and township roads get a mixture of sand and salt. County roads such as A, B, BE and H with higher traffic volumes or more populated rural areas such as the Mooseyard in the town of Wescott will get “pre-wetted salt” or brine with their snowplowing.

Snowplows keep drivers on the road, but what does it take to keep a snowplow on the road?

Snowplowing calls for a balancing act between keeping roads clear and budget because we have to live within our means, Bystol said.

As part of that effort, the commissioner said the department tries to buy multi-purpose vehicles when adding to a fleet that costs about $10 million of the county’s $18 million inventory of highway department equipment.

“There’s a big jump in outfitting in the fall,” Bystol added.

It takes roughly six weeks to transform the trucks from summertime construction configuration to snowplows. For trucks dedicated to state Highway 29, a pair of axles is taken off, and an underbody plow is installed. Wing plows are put on the left and right sides of the truck as well as the traditional front plow.

Trucks used on county and township roads usually have an axle taken off, but only a right wing plow and front plow are installed.

Keeping plows on the road requires each operator to monitor his truck’s condition and report any problems or breakdowns, Bystol said. A daily checklist is required of each driver. Hydraulic hoses, lights and the computers used to regulate the brine or salt/sand distribution often need attention, according to Bystol.

The cutting edges on the bottoms of plows and the “shoes,” metal pieces that help regulate the blade height off the pavement and assist with even blade wear, are the most frequent items consumed during the winter and cost the county about $80,000 each year.

A truck will last about 10 years, according to Bystol, but that is more of a measure of the number of hours they’re used and how they’re used than years.

An exception are the 30-year-old FWD and Oshkosh vehicles that are exclusively snowplows with nine-foot V-plows. “V-plows” are much like the letter V and push snow in two directions, Bystol said.

They’re seldom used due to their size and operating cost, according to the commissioner, but “if we hadn’t had those on hand, we would have been at a standstill last April when there was a snowfall of more than 30 inches.”

Two people are needed to operate the FWD and Oshkosh vehicles contributing to the higher expense, Bystol said. Despite their age, they need lower amounts of maintenance, he added.

Graders are are another weapon in the arsenal against very deep snowfalls, also armed with with V-plows, Bystol said.

Road salt — love it and hate it
Drivers love salt for making roads easier to navigate in the winter. Environmentalists, including some of those same drivers, and gardeners hate salt for killing roadside plants and posing a threat to nearby waters.
Shawano County’s highway department is trying to satisfy salt lovers and haters, according to Grant Bystol, highway commissioner. One method is use of brine or salt solutions that it mixes at its headquarters on Richmond Street in Shawano. Brine sticks better to road surfaces, Bystol said, and works better at lower temperatures than a salt-only treatment.
Granular salt can more easily blow off a road, requiring more treatments, he said.
The county makes “straight” or regular brine out of road salt but also makes brine with 5% calcium chloride and a brine with 10% calcium chloride, he said. The chemical is also a salt but melts snow and ice at lower temperatures, Bystol explained. The offset is that it is more expensive.
Bystol puts in the annual salt order in March with his best forecast on need for the coming winter.
“It can get tight some years,” he said.
He said this winter got off to a rougher start but salt demand has slowed.
The county had about 12,000 tons of salt to start this winter, costing about $900,000. If the county used only salt, that cost could go up to $1.3 million, Bystol said.

“It’s been five hours since it stopped snowing. Why aren’t I plowed out yet?”

The answer to the question on response to a snowfall may mean a call to your town chairman and not the county highway department, according to Grant Bystol, Shawano County highway commissioner.
Bystol noted the county only plows some township roads under annual contracts.
“That varies by township and the level of service. Some townships are more conscious of spending money,” he said.
Typically, the county plows township roads within an eight-hour window after a snowfall, Bystol said.

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