BCEO snow and ice control
crews were pressed into action for the first time this season
when Butler County had its first brush with winter weather last
week. While the accumulating snow didn't last more than a few
hours due to warm ground conditions, County Engineer Greg Wilkens
says his office is ready for the real stuff. The Engineer's Office
recently purchased four new snow and ice control trucks to solidify
an already top notch operation.
"I believe our
snow and ice control efforts are among the best in the state,"
he said. "We have experienced and well-trained crews, reliable
equipment, and place a strong emphasis on preparedness."
The BCEO's snow and ice control operation received numerous accolades
last year following the massive snowstorm that dumped up to two
feet of snow on Butler County right before the Christmas holidays.
Four New
Trucks Added To Fleet
To improve snow removal
efficiency even more, four new state-of-the-art trucks have been
added to the Engineer's fleet for the upcoming winter -- three
tandem-axle trucks and one single-axle truck. The tandems hold
up to 15 tons of salt and 218 gallons of liquid calcium or brine,
according to Wilkens, while the single-axle holds 12 tons of
salt and 150 gallons of liquid.
"The addition
of these new trucks will greatly improve our overall program
as they are more cost-effective, reliable, and safer for our
drivers," noted BCEO
Operations Deputy Scott Bressler. "This also enables us
to take older trucks and downgrade them to secondary units,
thereby replacing older, aging trucks that are much less efficient.
The secondary trucks can always be ready if problems develop so
there is minimal down time. Incorporating the new trucks also
allows the secondary trucks to be used for pre-treating our roads
with salt brine, so there is less time spent loading and unloading
the brine tanks."
For a complete overview
of BCEO snow and ice control operations, please visit the Snowfighters page here on our web
site.
# # #
For more information
contact:
Chris
Petrocy, BCEO Public Information Supervisor
Greg Wilkens, P.E., P.S.,
Butler County Engineer
Phone 513.867.5744 • Fax 513.867.5849
