Maintenance Crews Realize   Significance of Their Work
by Patricia Bodack

In Somerset County, one of the winter-storm hotspots on the Pennsylvania Turnpike, inclement weather keeps the 21 maintenance employees engaged in snow-removal and ice-eradication efforts throughout the winter.

But these highway personnel — part of a dedicated maintenance workforce that totals more than 775 people — completely appreciate the "bigger picture."

As a major artery to the East Coast, a Turnpike shutdown during bad weather could effect more than just a few motorists. "We could be virtually shutting off the East Coast," said Roger Rayman, an equipment operator stationed at Somerset.

"There are many things that are transported across the Turnpike: medical supplies, food, just about everything," Rayman pointed out. "We don't want that road shut down. We keep going until we get it cleared."

Crews work tirelessly during weather emergencies to rid the Turnpike of snow, ice, and slush.

And even then, their job isn't done. Once the road is bare and only wet, maintenance workers still keep treating it with salt, calcium and anti-skid to prevent icing and further accumulation.

"Sometimes, in a full blown storm, by the time you've cleared your section, go back to reload the truck and return, its as if the road wasn't plowed at all," said Rayman, a 20-year veteran of the Turnpike.

Turnpike maintenance crews are concerned not only with the two- or three-lane roadway itself, but also with the shoulders. It is essential to keep the shoulder clear, the experts explained, because snow blowing off the shoulder can blanket the roadway faster than snowfall itself.

"The road melts two to three times faster if the shoulder is cleared," said George Licastro, an equipment operator at the Somerset maintenance facility who has been with the Turnpike nearly 17 years. "If you can't keep the shoulder clean, you can't keep the road clean."

It is also important to keep the shoulder clear in case vehicles must pull over, an accident occurs, or emergency vehicles need to respond to an accident.

Whether it’s driving a dump truck in a plow train or washing down a piece of equipment after the shift has ended, one characteristic shared by the Turnpike’s maintenance people is the satisfaction they take in a job well done.

Like the employees at each of the Turnpike’s 20 maintenance shops, the Somerset Maintenance staff takes great pride in what they do, especially when no accidents are reported. In a bad season — like 1994-95, when 238 inches of snow fell in Somerset County and crews were camped out at the shed — they all pitched in together.

"You make due, get back on the road, and you all just work together to clear the road," says Licastro.

Rayman admitted that the job can sometimes be tough. "When you know you are doing all you can to clear the roads — when you've got all the men out there, and there's still bad conditions and accidents occur — it leaves you with a bad feeling."

"When a snowstorm hits, it’s a very dangerous situation out there for everyone," Licastro concluded.

In the clutches of another Pennsylvania winter, with its freezing rain and driving snowstorms and the ensuing — sometimes treacherous — road conditions, many motorists feel reassured that they can travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike in relative safety.

In fact, Turnpike travelers have come to expect that the toll road will be among the first to be cleared after, and even during, snowstorms or freezing rains.

WHEN IT SNOWS, WE POUR -- The Pennsylvania Turnpike's' maintenance department will spread 125,000 tons of salt, anti-skid material and calcium to make the roadway safe this winter. Here, a front-end loader stocks material into one of the Turnpike's 225 plow/spreader-equipped dump trucks.

"The more snow we get, the more traffic we get because everyone knows the Turnpike is clear," said George Licastro, equipment operator at the Turnpike’s Somerset maintenance facility at milepost 114. He explained that, during a snowstorm, many commercial vehicles and passenger cars alike choose not to travel across Interstate 80; they instead opt for the Turnpike, even though it might take them miles out of their way.

To be sure, the Turnpike’s maintenance department is committed to providing a safe roadway throughout the year. That commitment is backed up by a $6 million annual wintertime maintenance budget — about 15 percent of the total annual maintenance budget.

When bad weather strikes, the maintenance department deploys an impressive army of resources, including:

• a dedicated staff of roughly 800 trained maintenance personnel in 20 maintenance facilities throughout the system;

• an arsenal of heavy equipment including 225 plow/spreader-equipped dump trucks and 45 front-end loaders dedicated to fighting weather-related road conditions;

• 125,000 tons (or 250 million pounds estimated annual usage) of salt, anti-skid material and calcium;

• a longstanding "bare pavement" plowing policy coupled with an effective "plow train" snow-removal practice.

"We utilize a plowing technique in which the plow blade is right on that bare pavement," said Assistant Director of Maintenance John Stewart regarding the bare pavement policy. "We don’t use ‘shoes’ on the plows that slightly raise the blade and thus leave residue on the roadway."

While he said that bare-pavement technique is more costly than standard practice of elevated plowing, he said that the extra cost is worth the safety benefits. "It demonstrates our commitment to the customer to provide the clearest possible roadway," Stewart said. "It distinguishes us from the average road."

In heavy storms, the maintenance teams use a "plow train" of five to six vehicles staggered from the median barrier out to the shoulder. With this method — one of the most effective ways to clear the entire width of the road at once — each truck is positioned to pick up where the truck in front left off.

Motorists travelling behind the plow trains are urged to be patient while crews clear the roadway ahead. "Remember, the road in front of the plows is still snow covered," Steward pointed out. "You might speed up to pass the plow line and end up skidding off the roadway into an embankment, or worse."

Wintertime Driving Tips
by Patricia Bodack                       

Preparing your vehicle for the winter season and knowing how to react should a mishap or accident occur in the winter can be the difference between life and death.

Make sure you don’t get caught in a winter storm without a windshield scraper, extra windshield wiper fluid and even a small broom for ice and snow removal.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike is. State Police, maintenance and emergency workers will be working around the clock this winter, should a bad storm hit.