Commissioners will examine the county’s snow-removal policy to suggest improvements, although Lawrence County engineer David Lynd said not much more can be done without additional resources.

Wednesday, December 29, 1999

Commissioners will examine the county’s snow-removal policy to suggest improvements, although Lawrence County engineer David Lynd said not much more can be done without additional resources.

"I’m not trying to make excuses, but I don’t know what to do other than buy more trucks to cover the roads faster," Lynd said.

Road crews worked six to eight hours Tuesday, plowing and salting about 375 miles of county roads, but the late afternoon snowfall covered that effort quickly, he said, adding that similar situations occurred during last week’s snowfalls.

Complaints from residents and the Ohio Highway Patrol about impassable roads during those snowfalls prompted the commission’s study.

The number of traffic accidents on county roads have been unacceptable, OHP Ironton post commander Lt. Jim Coleman told the commissioners at Tuesday’s meeting.

If the commission could provide a copy of the snow-removal policy, there might be ways to improve the plan to reduce accidents on some roads, Coleman said.

"The commission has no authority to develop that policy," commissioner George Patterson said. "But if we can work with the engineer and yourself and maybe recommend ways to make it easier (to remove snow) then that’s what we want to do."

The commission voted to request a copy of the policy from Lynd and to meet with all parties concerned, inviting Coleman to come back with recommendations, too.

"I don’t want to overstep my bounds but I can share experiences I have had with other counties," Coleman said.

Lynd said he would share information and listen to suggestions, but the answer is likely more employees, salt and trucks.

And, with $50,000 truck price tags and thousands of extra pounds of salt at $3 a ton, that might prove difficult, he said.

It takes 10 plow and spreader drivers more than four trips to cover about 35 miles assigned to each of them, and there are priority routes, Lynd said.

The ideal situation is to salt when it starts to snow, which makes it easier to plow after the snowfall, he said. Then, the salt and grit plowed off the road should be replaced.

"We just don’t have the resources to do it that way," Lynd said. "And I don’t know if it’s possible to plow the county highways all night to have them ready for traffic at 7 a.m."

County roads are not like U.S. 52, and some hills require salt trucks drive backwards up them, spreading salt as they go so they can make it up, he said.

"And I don’t want to put loaded salt trucks out at 3 a.m. and get the truck over the hill," Lynd said. "That benefits nobody."

Crews could work in shifts, but then there would be fewer trucks on the roads during each shift, he said.

Lynd said he is not complaining about his share of county budget money, but there are restrictions to what can be done and road crews are doing the best they can.

"Somebody’s got to balance the salt we buy with the blacktop we buy," he said. "That’s what we try to do."

In other action Tuesday, commissioners:

– Approved the retirement of Kenneth Ater as assistant county human services administrator two and David Lee Washburn as income maintenance supervisor two at the Lawrence County Department of Human Services. Both are effective Dec. 31.

– Awarded the bid for renovation of the Lawrence County Board of Elections to Meade Construction of Ashland, Ky., for $204,703.