Mechanic Turns Fun Summer Job into Full-Time Gig with Turnpike

Joe DiPierro had the best summer job ever last year. He got to work on the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s dump trucks, loaders, and multitude of equipment at the Devault Maintenance Facility.

“Everyone was fun to be around, plus you get to work on a lot of different things,” DiPierro recalled. “You’re not doing the same thing every day.”

And now, he’s turned that summer job into a full-time gig. DiPierro started working last month as Bowmansville’s newest mechanic.

DiPierro loves that being a mechanic at the Turnpike is much more than turning wrenches. Mechanics are diagnosing problems, they’re using the latest high-tech gear, they’re ordering parts, and they’re keeping the fleet ready to take on whatever may come.

It’s a long way from the small mom-and-pop shop where he started in Coatesville. While he learned the basics in that two-bay garage, oil changes were the norm, and he felt like a big fish in a small pond.

“Coming from just doing automotive, I like working on the big trucks,” the Thaddeus Stevens College of Technology graduate said.

And when it comes to trucks, the Turnpike takes it to the next level. That’s why it’s crucial to have a strong team of mechanics at any shed, and DiPierro is fitting right in, Bowmansville Foreman Chuck Gaumer said.

“We have such a variety of equipment that we work on from portable generators all the way up our fleet of dump trucks,” Gaumer said. “Mechanics have to be knowledgeable in all aspects.

Technology is moving fast, and having bright, young talent like DiPierro is crucial, as well, he added.

Bowmansville is a particularly great place for a new mechanic because the other trades – like carpenters and electricians – work out of the same shed, and DiPierro gets to work on their vehicles and gear and keep them in tip-top shape, as well.

While jumping from one kind of vehicle to another with a wide variety of problems to diagnose can be a lot of shifting gears for a mechanic, that’s the kind of challenge DiPierro enjoys.

“You just take your time and figure out one thing at a time,” he said.

Being a new mechanic, the biggest challenge still lies ahead – winter. But even during 90-degree days, DiPierro and his fellow Turnpike mechanics are already thinking about the snowy season.

“We’re making sure every truck is in top condition for when next winter comes around,” he said.

By Steve Marroni, PA Turnpike Communications Specialist

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