EL PASO COUNTY — Snow season has arrived in Colorado and plow crews are ready to roll.
They have hit the road for some small storms which is a good way to test the readiness of equipment.
“It's not a good thing to get out to a big storm and find out your truck isn't sanding right or a liquid unit isn't shooting right or the plow, does it go up or down or turn or something. So these little storms are good for us to kind of shake the bugs free,” said Brad Bauer with CDOT.
Supplies like anti-skid material are fully stocked. For Colorado Springs there was material left-over from last year because of the milder winter. It helped this year’s budget because inflation is pushing up prices.
“We paid more for it than we normally would, but we didn't have to buy as much of it,” said Colorado Springs Streets Manager, Corey Farkas.
During the pandemic many municipalities across Colorado had to deal with a plow driver shortage.
It prompted Colorado Springs public works managers to create a training program to attract drivers and counter the issue.
“So we are sitting a lot better than we were last year. You know, we're never going to be completely staffed, there's always going to be a few vacancies,” said Farkas, “But but we're not hurting like we were last year.”
Other agencies like the Colorado Department of Transportation and El Paso County are looking to add plow drivers.
____
Watch KOAA News5 on your time, anytime with our free streaming app available for your Roku, FireTV, AppleTV and Android TV. Just search KOAA News5, download and start watching.
