Untitled Document

Road warriors preparing for winter onslaught

District 4 Newsletter: Interchange
The first snow of the season has already landed across the top of District 4’s highest peaks, signaling the beginning of the snow season.

The Winter Start-up meeting on Sept. 12 at the District 4 Headquarters highlighted a few of the safety issues, new policies and chemical applications to be utilized this year. Drivers were encouraged to enact “no boundaries” between assigned road sections when other drivers need assistance.

“The main thing is if you see the next road section needs help … contact the other driver and let him know you can help,” said Shoshone lead man Bill Dillard.

“And it’s not just in the winter time,” Hailey temporary foreman Steve Cole added. “We don’t want to see a line in the road where your road section begins and ends. Our level of service needs to remain constant over our borders. We need to keep conformity.”

The 60 attending drivers were also warned against roadside hazards by each area supervisors in the case of plowing in unfamiliar areas. Each maintenance shed supervisor touched on individual hazards for each section of road and areas of emphasis.

Twin Falls maintenance shed foreman Dennis Jensen talked in depth about the experiment his area has been conducting with blends of salt, sand and calcium chloride to produce the best results of grip and ice removal. The study includes the best mixture for conditions and the cost incurred to achieve those results.

“We’re doing a lot of good, but we’re not being efficient,” Jensen told the group. “A lot of us didn’t know what it was costing for our salt and if we were doing it properly. … It’s about providing that higher level of service for our roads.”

District 4 drivers also were given techniques for proper cleaning and servicing of equipment, ideas for better communication from Idaho State Police Cpt. Kedrick Wills, and a lesson in the new Road Weather Information Stations (RWIS) system being implemented statewide.

See the District 4 newsletter: Interchange