|
With Veterans Day taking place this month, the OCRC wants to thank all of our employees who have served in the armed forces!
These employees are:
Scott Powell
Josh Hannan
John Gappa
Rich Johnson
Will DeGarmo
Eric Heyboer
Andy Zoerman
Cliff Kozminski
Hayden Schmidt
We appreciate their service, and the service of Veterans across Ottawa County!
The Ottawa County Road Commission (OCRC) is gearing up for another winter season. Our operations staff have been diligently preparing to ensure we have the right staffing levels, well-maintained equipment, and sufficient materials to handle snow removal and de-icing.
Staffing & Crew Resources
The OCRC employs 55 full-time staff, supplemented by seasonal plow drivers, operating from four maintenance garages in Coopersville, Grand Haven, Hudsonville, and North Holland. We also contract additional crews to help maintain township subdivisions. Our dedicated team can work up to 16-hour shifts in severe weather, responding to as many as 50 winter maintenance events each season.
Training & Preparation
To ensure our drivers are well-prepared, on Oct. 18, the OCRC hosted a training session for new plow drivers.
New staff from the OCRC, as well as drivers from Muskegon, Mason, and Newaygo County Road Commissions, all participated in the day-long training event. The event featured a morning classroom segment, followed by an afternoon driver training course.
On Oct. 23, OCRC crews participated in the annual winter operations training held in Coopersville at our Coopersville maintenance facility.
Efficiency Improvements
The OCRC continuously seeks ways to improve efficiency and effectiveness in winter maintenance while managing costs. This includes calibrating our salt spreaders and equipping new trucks with double wing plows to clear more road width in a single pass.
Plowing Priorities
Our winter maintenance follows a priority system based on traffic volume, road classification, and location:
- State Trunklines (e.g., I-96, I-196, US-31, M-45, M-231)
- Multi-lane Primary Roads
- Primary Roads
- Local Paved Roads
- Subdivision Streets
- Local Gravel Roads
- Dead End Streets and Cul-de-sacs
Please note that it can take up to 48 hours after a snow event for our team to cover the entire road network. We ask for your patience and caution during winter weather events.
The responsibility for picking up and disposing of dead animals has been a long-running debate. Surprisingly, there is no statutory requirement for any agency in Michigan to perform this service.
Animal control authorities and the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) have both stated they have no authority on the issue.
There is no agency in Ottawa County that provides removal services for small wild or domestic animals such as chipmunks, squirrels, opossum, raccoon, or cats. They must be taken to a landfill.
As a courtesy, and to ensure safe driving conditions, dead deer are removed from the road right of way once per week when we’re not conducting winter maintenance activities.
To report a dead deer in the right-of-way in need of removal, call our office at 616-842-5400, or visit ottawacorc.com/service-requests.
|
The Ottawa County Road Commission (OCRC) participated in the annual American Public Works Association Snowplow Roadeo on October 9, held at the City of Kentwood Public Works garage.
Event Highlights
The main attraction of the event was a competitive obstacle course designed to mimic real snow plowing operations. Drivers were timed and scored based on accuracy, safety, and speed. The course, set up with cones and barrels, tested drivers’ skills in maneuvering around parked cars, navigating curves, handling diminishing clearance, negotiating offset intersections, weaving through serpentine areas, and backing into a loading dock.
Each team, consisting of two drivers, completed the course independently, with their scores combined for a team total.
|
|
