As cooler temperatures sweep through the region, the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) is getting a head state on winter weather preparation.
MoDOT crews in Scott City dedicated Thursday to getting familiar with their routes, inspecting equipment and testing their communication system. They have also prepped more than 600 tons of salt during winter operations drill training.
Mark Croarkin serves as the Southeast District Engineer. He said this type of training is needed for workers who lack experience.
“You start looking around the state and 19% of our snowplow drivers, this is their first winter and a third of our drivers have been here less than three years,” Croarkin said to KFVS12 News.
Early Thursday morning, Croarkin said his crew reacted to a simulated forecast of severe snowstorms landing in the entire state.
“We kind of said, hey, this is pretend, where we had snow across the north. Race across the South. How are we going to shift? How are we going to do it? What do we need to watch out for? You start getting ice. We have safety discussions about things like ice cleats,” he said.
He said training drivers to operate these trucks plays a major part in winter drill operations.
“Just figuring out how to turn the lights on if you’re not familiar with it takes a little while because there are strobe lights on top and in the back,“ Croakin said. “Just making sure everything works. There’s more than just driving down the road."
While the entire state is short several hundred drivers to plow two 12-hour shifts. Croarkin said they are looking to fill part-time positions before the snow hits Southeast Missouri.
Source: KFVS12 News, KSMU.org
