Published Thursday, Jan. 14, 1999 "It's a constant battle," Jim Cooper, roadway program coordinator for PennDOT in Mercer, said about the crews fighting Old Man Winter.
Here's just a sampling around the county of what the winter weather is costing:
PennDOT, Mercer County
PennDOT, which has 32 plows, has used between 9,000 and 10,000 tons salt, most of which was used in the last two weeks, Cooper said. In the last two years, they used 16,000 tons.
"We're well into our budgeted amount," he said.
But Cooper said getting the salt is not a problem.
"We're experienced some slow delivery but we've been able to maintain an adequate supply at this point," he said. "But everyone is trying to get it from the same place."
Hydraulic spreaders, which allows trucks to put the salt directly on roads while traveling at 40 mph, have made things a little easier on the salt supply.
"That's reduced our salt usage 30 to 40 percent," he said.
The crews are working seven days a week and more than $100,000 has been spent paying for overtime hours, Cooper said.
"It's a constant battle," he said.
So far, Hinkson said $15,000 said has been spent in winter maintenance overtime costs. The city generally operates a full crew with 10 trucks and two mechanics.
Hinkson said salt deliveries have been slow and not full amounts but the city is getting it.
Should supplies get too low, he said, the city will be able to make it go further by mixing anti-skid with salt.
"This is lasting so long," she said of snow fall. "We can't get ahead of it.
"We're all doing the best we can. Our street department employees are just about working around the clock. This is so exceptional we can't keep up. It's hard on the equipment."
One of the city's trucks is down and waiting for a new engine to be delivered, she said.
The street department has three full-time employees and one part-timer. The city also has used a firefighter with equipment-operating skills, and contracted with 4 Seasons Construction and Landscaping and Sharon Paving to help remove snow from streets.
Mrs. Saternow said she hasn't gotten any reports back on the amount of overtime being worked by employees, the amount of salt that's been dumped or what the private contractors will be billing.
"It's going to be ugly, between the salt and overtime and the equipment repairs," she said.
The city has had some trouble getting salt and at one point 1½ weeks ago it ran out. Since then it has borrowed salt from PennDOT and received two shipments Tuesday night.
At the city building, employees are taking calls from residents claiming that either their streets haven't been plowed or that the plowed snow is blocking their driveways.
"We need everybody to be a little more patient and understanding," she said.
That's about four times what McKnight, a one-man crew who has worked for the borough about 20 years, put down last year.
The borough in 1998 used half of the budgeted $2,000 for snow and ice removal and was able to use the rest for this winter. when $2,000 was again budgeted.
McKnight said he was expecting another shipment of salt.
Mayor Doug Bradley said Clark doesn't have any specific agreements to share salt and anti-skid materials with other municipalities "but it we got into a bind I'm sure we could arrange something pretty quickly."
"We were stocked up and had some from last year,'' he said. "We have standing orders for Morton Salt.''
The borough ordered 175 tons and then another 150 tons of material for its 22 miles of roads plus alleys this year, Spiker said.
"When we were running low we were mixing anti-skid with salt," said Spiker, adding that the 12-man crews are also applying a salt brine liquid this year which is supposed to keep the salt on the road.
Occasionally the borough shares salt with Pine Township and Grove City College, Spiker said.
The three supervisors are responsible for clearing about 28 miles of township roads, and they have different work schedules, so there is usually one available for road work at any time.
"On weekends we gang up on it," he said.
The supervisors have been busy trying to keep up with the snow, but their supplies of ashes and salt are sufficient -- they stockpile it -- their equipment has held up and the work hasn't taxed the budget, Good said.
He was called out at 4 a.m. Wednesday for road detail by the police.
The township uses two full-timers and two part-timers, two medium-duty trucks and one one-ton truck on 34 miles of winter roads.
Yesterday they were plowing and putting materials down on intersections and hills.
"The material went alot further last year,'' he said.
The township ordered 440 tons of salt/anti-skid material last November, which lasted through February. It spent $12,445 last winter but has already spent $12,863 this year out of a $13,800 budget.
As for overtime, the township spent $1,300 in all of January 1998 and $2,500 for the first 13 days of this month, Nashtock said.
"We budget so much out of state money and so much out of the general fund,'' he said. "We stretch it or maybe cut back paving in the summer.''
The township has had to wait for salt shipments from Morton Salt in Ohio but not for the anti-skid material from Temple Sand & Gravel in Volant and Atlantic States Materials of Pennsylvania, Mercer.
"There are a couple roads we share with Hermitage and Pymatuning Township and it's usually whoever gets there first helps.''
The state is responsible for the 16.5 miles of state roads such as Route 846 and Route 18 that run through the township.
