Salt sheds fully stocked; more than 500 trucks available for battling winter storms
No matter what Mother Nature has in store for Rhode Island this coming winter, the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is prepared to handle winter's worst so roads are as clear and safe as possible during storms.
RIDOT has a fleet of 178 trucks and access to another 350 trucks from private vendors ready to roll at a moment's notice. The Department's 20 salt sheds and stock piles are fully loaded, with 60,000 tons on the ground and a system in place to readily replenish them as needed.
"We're all prepped and ready to roll," said Joe Bucci, RIDOT's State Highway Maintenance Operations Engineer. "We've got the tools we need and a great crew of dedicated, seasoned drivers to operate them from the first flake to the final clean up."
RIDOT budgets about $20 million a year for winter storm management. The Department responds to an average of 20-30 winter storms a year, often with rapidly changing conditions including heavy snowfall, rain, freezing rain, black ice, ice, rapid freezing and even flooding. Maintenance forces are spread among seven districts statewide, able to direct the response as needed to meet the unique weather conditions in different parts of the state.
The Department employs the latest technology including hourly forecasting services, weather sensor data from fixed stations and mobile units mounted on plow trucks, salt brine trucks to pre-treat the roads when possible to do so, and GPS devices mounted to salt/sand spreaders so RIDOT can precisely meter the amount of material going down on the roads.
RIDOT offers these tips and suggestions for drivers to be ready for another season of winter driving:
- • Get your car ready for winter conditions now. Make sure brakes, tires and batteries are in good shape and consider getting a tune up if it's been a while. Snow tires are a good investment and can greatly improve safety when travel is unavoidable during a snow storm.
- • Avoid unnecessary travel during storms, especially when snowfall is heaviest. Traffic congestion creates a snowball effect in which plows get stuck in traffic and can't complete their routes in a timely fashion. In turn, roads become more snow covered between plow passes.
- • Drive with care. If you absolutely have to be out during a storm, buckle up, reduce your speed, avoid distraction and never drive while impaired.
- • Don't crowd the plow – the safest place to be is a safe distance behind RIDOT's plows and sanders. Do not attempt to pass plow trucks, especially on the right where large volumes of snow and slush are being pushed out of the lane of travel.
- • Be patient. RIDOT and its vendor partners plow and treat roads on set routes, repeating them until the storm is over and the roads are clear. Be prepared for snow and slush-covered roads during storms while our crews do their job.
Learn more about winter driving on RIDOT's response to winter storms at www.ridot.net/winter.