HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – This winter, the Street Division of Public Works will plow and salt 184 miles of roads in city limits when winter weather hits. With only 16 people, this department operates as a well-oiled machine. They are currently deep into preparations to keep streets safe this winter.
Day to day, the street division can be found doing a variety of jobs including repairing potholes, solving drainage issues, placing and replacing street signs, or clean roads with a street sweeper.
“It’s a little self-explanatory, we take care of the streets,” said Joshua Durham, the Street Division Superintendent.
But winter months bring different challenges. Their flexible fleet of trucks can be quickly transitioned to clear snow and distribute salt. The department is on call day and night and works with the National Weather Service so they can quickly respond to a winter weather threat.
Their lot holds a massive warehouse with over 1,000 tons of salt that will be ready to use after it’s turned over and refreshed in the next few weeks. The department is using a brine on the salt and a wetting system to make sure it’s evenly distributed and most effective.
“When the salt comes out, it comes out in a fan. When it hits the fan, it bounces so you don’t have a lot of control where that salt lands in the street. With our wetting system, it weighs the salt down and puts it where we need it,” said Durham.
Durham credits the street division’s dedicated crew and the assistant superintendent for always working as quickly and efficiently as they can. Since they operate slow moving trucks on busy primary roads and tight secondary roads during severe weather, safety is always their main concern. Teams get sent out in pairs to ensure each other’s safety. But the other drivers on the road during dicey conditions can also be a hazard.
“Please have patience,” said Durham. “Our guys are running slow, but if they pull over give them plenty of room because you never know when you’ll hit that spot of ice.”