Despite being short drivers, county officials feel they are on top of responding to the winter weather.
ST. LOUIS COUNTY, Mo. — Five transportation centers were up and running in St. Louis County on Wednesday to respond to the winter weather.
St. Louis County transportation leaders said their crews, who have been working around the clock, prepared them for the winter storm.
Each center has its own salt dome, plows, trucks, and communication center to keep everybody on task.
County leaders and employees in the operations center constantly monitor the forecast and adjust as the predicted weather approaches.
“I guess it’s like a ball game or a theater production. You see the people up on stage that you’re watching, but there’s a whole lot that goes behind in preparation and getting your tools ready, getting your communication ready,” said St. Louis County Executive Sam Page.
Officials say it’s a complete production, and 5 On Your Side got a behind-the-scenes look at one of those centers to see the entire process.
Page said it’s all about pre-treating, treating, and staying on top of problem roads.
Crews were out Tuesday night pre-treating the roads and back out all day on Wednesday, putting down another layer of salt.
But before the county salt trucks can load up to treat the roads, they must first plan their snow response.
“It starts back in the summer. There’s a lot of planning that goes into putting that truck on the road on that street at the right time with the right equipment and responding appropriately to the weather that’s happening that minute,” Page said.
District Manager Rick Lancaster has worked for St. Louis County Transportation for 48 years. He said the county has stayed organized using the same mapping system since he started.
Lancaster said the system is a work in progress, but it seems to work well for them.
From minute-by-minute tracking, county employees constantly communicate with the truck drivers, tracking where every truck is and when it finishes treating each area.
“Each truck has a two-way radio in it. You call in each time, and on each map, they start with their start time, and we put it down, and then they call in when it’s finished,” said Lancaster.
On that two-way radio, Rick checked in with drivers. “10-4. John, what about you? How’s it looking?”
On the other end, the driver responded, “Running water.”
Running water: a phrase that St. Louis County plow and salt truck drivers will say when they have good news.
“You’ll hear our drivers report back on the radio; they’ll say it’s running water. That’s generally an exclamation of joy. In the Transportation of Public Works, it means you don’t have ice or snow on the street, that your salt got down, it’s broken up the water, it’s broken up the snow and the ice, and it’s running off the road,” Page said.
Page said weather events can be challenging due to their budget and lack of staff.
“In Saint Louis County, we have a lot of challenges with our budget and our ability to hire folks. We’re short drivers. And we actually get a lot done with a relatively tight staff. We have a few contractors helping us this winter. We have been using some private contractors for the past couple of years. Still, the vast majority of this work is done by our county employees, who are dedicated and hardworking and put in a lot of extra time during these weather events to make sure our streets get cleared,” the Page said.
He added they’d like to have at least 40 more drivers, allowing them to use fewer contractors and ultimately save the county some money.
“Not having a full staff, whether it’s the Department of Transportation and Public Works or the Department of Revenue, really can impact our ability to respond to weather events,” Page said.
Despite the lack of staff, county leaders feel they are on top of being able to treat the county roads promptly.
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