UDOT Workers Wrap Up One Storm, Prepare For Another
Feb 7, 2019, 1:57 PM
SALT LAKE CITY, Utah – While many drivers may feel finally out of the woods, after Wednesday’s major snowstorm, plow operators with the Utah Department Of Transportation said their work is far from over.
“It doesn’t just end when it stops snowing,” Station Foreman Bob Giolas said. “When we have a lot of snow to push back … There’s still a lot of work to do.”
Giolas said many drivers, himself included, have been working 12-hour shifts to stay on top of the snow removal. He said a few drivers at times may get approval to work a couple hours more, but that doesn’t happen a lot. However, as they do the finishing touches from snow that came down over the last few days, they’re already shifting efforts to prepare for the next storm, expected over the weekend.
Check out our crews hard at work clearing Little Cottonwood Canyon near Snowbird. #utwx pic.twitter.com/hBHV7y8ozi
— Utah DOT (@UtahDOT) February 6, 2019
“We’ll just get ready for the next one,” Giolas said. “We’ve got to fix our trucks. We’ve got to change snow plow blades.”
Giolas said while drivers will handle the smaller maintenance issues, five traveling maintenance workers handle the tougher repairs for 15 different UDOT stations in Region 2, working around the clock.
Giolas said the toughest issue with this most recent storm wasn’t the large amounts of snow. Instead, it was the colder temperatures.
“It dropped down below 25, and it’s hard to break the ice pack from that,” Giolas said. “All our guys could do was to keep pushing it off to the shoulder, get material down, hope that traffic can pound it down into the ice, and get it to break loose.”