MoDOT workers getting ready for winter

ALANNA WOLF Staff Writer
Missouri Department of Transportation workers at the Maryville location tested out the hydraulic suspension on a snowplow attached to one of the MoDOT trucks Wednesday morning as part of a drill in preparation for the coming winter.

Missouri Department of Transportation workers in Maryville took part in a winter readiness drill Wednesday morning.

According to Marcia Johnson, a communication specialist with MoDOT, the winter operation skills training was part of a statewide training drill for all MoDOT workers, as well as MoDOT’s emergency operations center.

“The goal of this drill is to make sure that all our workers and all our equipment are ready for bad weather,” Johnson said. “We want everything to be prepared and ready to go before bad weather strikes, not when it strikes.”

During the drill MoDOT employees reacted to a simulated forecast of significant snow for the entire state. MoDOT’s emergency centers activated and maintenance employees were deployed to their trucks.

The winter operations training drill allowed workers to go through dry runs with their equipment, make sure all vehicles were running properly, learn their snow routes prior to bad weather, and go through safety drills to make sure that they were ready to safely work in hazardous weather.

“The goal of MoDOT is for everyone, workers and motorists, to get home safely in hazardous weather,” said Johnson. “These winter preparation drills make sure we can accomplish that goal.”

An estimated 3,500 MoDOT employees took part in the drills, according to State Maintenance Engineer Becky Allmeroth, including every maintenance crew in the state.

One of the most valuable aspects of the drill was the opportunity to measure snowplow circuits by driving routes that may have been modified since the previous winter seasons, Allmeroth said.

It allowed MoDOT’s newest snow fighters the opportunity to drive a snowplow over their proposed routes so that they were able to take note of obstacles or obstructions like curbs or raised islands that may be hidden by snow or ice during a storm.

All MoDOT maintenance employees also had to complete annual winter skills training that served as a type of refresher course for plowing snow.

MoDOT officials said that this type of training ensures that proper equipment operation, plowing techniques, and safety measures are fresh on employees’ minds as winter weather approaches.