The Butler County Engineer's
Office will gear up for winter this week with its annual Snowfighters
ROADEO. This four-day event gets underway tomorrow as drivers
begin a round of safety training plus equipment and maintenance
reviews.
All drivers will review
plow blade replacement, calcium fill procedures with gloves and
mask, tire chain utilization, and emergency procedures for a
stuck vehicle or an accident. Additional driver training includes
a detailed vehicle safety inspection, driving actual assigned
routes, and driving their snow plows through an obstacle course
designed to simulate actual winter situations.
A good supply of salt
and calcium chloride is already stocked at the Engineer's Office.
Additional supplies will be ordered as the need arises, which
will depend on what kind of winter we have. The BCEO budgets
for 3,700 tons of salt for a typical Butler County winter.
BCEO crews keep 267
miles of County roadway safe and passable with eleven snow and
ice control routes. An additional twelfth route concentrates
primarily on the heavily populated southeastern townships. Routing
is determined by a computerized system which takes several factors
into account when configuring the most efficient routes for Butler
County's salt trucks -- lane miles to be covered, speed limits,
spread rates, plus any load limitations on bridges.
A new weather monitoring
system installed last year by the BCEO allows more detailed tracking
of ground conditions and approaching winter storms. Reports are
also utilized from spotters around the County who include township
officials, local police and fire agencies, the Sheriff's Department,
BCEO staff members, and the general public.
- Snow Emergency
In rare instances,
a Snow Emergency may be declared necessitating limited
or restricted driving conditions. For an overview of Snow Emergency
classifications, please see Road and
Travel Conditions. The BCEO will post Snow Emergency notifications
and local driving conditions on the Road
and Travel Conditions page as well. The media is also immediately
notified whenever a snow emergency is declared. Motorists are
encouraged to monitor local media or the BCEO's web site -- www.bceo.org -- for initial notifications
plus any changes in the designated level of the snow emergency.
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