Storm Readiness

In response to weather forecasts calling for a major winter storm, the Wicomico County Roads and Emergency Services Departments are preparing for a repeat of last weekend’s snow event.

Roads currently has 231 tons of salt on hand. Earlier in the week, Roads ordered 350 tons of salt and has received 175 tons. The order remains open but sources indicate that the county salt supplier is under great pressure to meet the local demand.

There are approximately 64 employees at Roads and Solid Waste on call as Emergency Services issues reports on the state of the storm. Last week, the county used 38 pieces of equipment to clear roadways.

During the week, Roads has been doing routine maintenance checks on its rolling stock to ensure readiness in the event of a second major storm hitting the area.

Here is the basic procedure for snow removal from county roads…

At the beginning of a snow event, the 6 county salt trucks are dispatched to salt the main roads. After 2”-to-3” have fallen, the remainder of the crew is alerted. If the snow is expected to stop at 3”-to-4”, Roads will wait until it stops to begin plowing. If more is expected, the crews start plowing at a 4” snowfall level. The crews will be working for as long as the snow is falling.

Last week’s snow event clean-up cost about $100,000. There are sufficient reserve funds in the Roads budget to pay for another major clean-up.

Wicomico County Emergency Services is constantly issuing weather updates and is prepared to handle 911 calls from citizens. Last week’s snow event was fairly routine for Emergency Services in terms of responding to calls.

Wicomico County Executive Richard M. Pollitt. Jr., has often said that one of the major objectives of his administration is to maintain the safety of county roads.