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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Nov. 18, 2015
INDOT Readies for the Winter Season
Governor Mike Pence has declared this
week, Nov. 15 through 21, as Winter Weather Preparedness Week in Indiana. The
Indiana Department of Transportation has been preparing for the upcoming winter
season since the snow and ice melted last spring. INDOT’s top wintertime
priority is removing snow and preventing ice on more than 11,000 miles of
interstates, U.S. highways and state routes.
Salt in stock
Last winter, nearly 278,000 tons of
granular salt and 5.2 million gallons of salt brine were deployed on state and
federal highways. INDOT continues to receive deliveries of salt and already has
more than 193,000 tons on hand.
New plow equipment
Last winter, INDOT plow trucks
logged nearly 5.7 million miles – the equivalent of 228 trips around the earth
or 12 round trips to moon.
INDOT continues to add new equipment
to its fleet of more than 1,000 plow trucks. A total of 10 “tow plows” will be
used this year to clear multi-lane highways. The tow plow and material spreader
are pulled behind and to the side of a yellow INDOT plow truck, allowing one
driver to clear two lanes at once.
Each yellow plow truck undergoes a
full bumper-to-bumper inspection, and mechanics will repair mechanical
problems before the first winter storm.
Each yellow plow truck takes 2-3
hours to complete its route with salt assisting in melting between passes. In
addition, INDOT has outfitted 50 marked white pickups with plows and material
spreaders to clear ramps, intersections and trouble spots.
Hiring, training drivers
Last winter, INDOT staff logged
311,000 man hours performing winter operations. Mechanics, salt loaders and radio
operators support plow drivers to keep the trucks running around the clock when
needed.
INDOT has been holding job fairs
and aggressively hiring seasonal and full-time plow drivers over the past few
months. Applications are still being accepted for some locations at http://careers.in.gov. Both plow drivers and
supervisors attend classroom training to learn new technology and techniques.
Preventing potholes
INDOT spent the warmer months
resurfacing and sealing state highways to prevent water from seeping into the
pavement and forming potholes.
During the current fiscal year,
INDOT is awarding contracts to resurface 727 miles of state highways. In
addition, INDOT maintenance crews sealed more than 1,200 lane miles this year. INDOT has increased its preservation and maintenance program since
Governor Pence took office in 2013 to keep pavement and bridges in good
condition for as long as possible.
Stay Informed
Subscribe to receive text and email
alerts at https://public.govdelivery.com/accounts/INDOT/subscriber/new.
Find links to INDOT’s regional
Facebook and Twitter pages at http://in.gov/indot/3074.htm.
View this message on the web
 
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