(Note: list of A, B, C routes for each county listed)
HIGHWAY DISTRICT 12 (November 25, 2019) – One morning soon we will wake up to snow-covered roads. Schools close. We try to decide if we can get off the hill and out to the main road. We wonder if there is ice underneath the snow. Then we hear the snowplow scraping and crunching, clearing a path. The snowplow team from District 12 is already on the job. We whisper “thank you,” and prepare for the day.
The skill and concentration of Highway District 12’s team of snowplow operators make them a force to match the winter weather. “Our men and women have spent months getting ready for winter,” said Mary Westfall-Holbrook, D12 chief district engineer. “The salt domes are full; liquid calcium chloride tanks are topped off; the men have made thousands of gallons of salt brine.”
A, B, C PRIORITY SYSTEM: Highway District 12 covers 2,145 miles of roadway. Roadway miles are different than lane miles. Counting four-lane roads and three-lane sections, D12 snowfighters are responsible for more than 4,550 lane miles of pavement.
Westfall-Holbrook explained that the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet has a system that dictates the order in which roads are cleared during a winter storm. “Roads are designated A, B, or C according to traffic counts, how many homes and businesses are served by each highway. We also take into account the main routes that first responders need to access other roads when emergencies happen, people need to get to a hospital, there is a fire, or some other life-threatening situation.
Snow and Ice Priority Maps are available by county on the Transportation Cabinet’s website:https://transportation.ky.gov/Maintenance/Pages/Snow-and-Ice-Priority-Maps.aspx . Some roads are split; in other words, part of the road may be an A route and other parts a B route.
MATERIALS INVENTORY: Terry Cole Tackett is responsible for the district’s snow and ice materials inventory. Storage domes currently hold 22,255 tons of rock salt in the 10 maintenance facilities positioned throughout District 12’s seven counties: Lawrence, Johnson, Martin, Floyd, Knott, Pike, and Letcher. Calcium chloride tanks are brimming with 92,732 gallons of the liquid snow-fighting chemical. More than 51,771 gallons of salt brine wait to be used in advance of a storm to prevent ice from bonding with the pavement. For hard to reach, stubborn spots, the garages have 777 bags of calcium chloride pellets on hand.
MAINTENANCE READINESS: Materials to spread on the roads are just the beginning of winter preparedness. District 12 uses 89 trucks with plows owned by the district, plus 13 contract trucks available on call. Each of the district’s snowplows goes through rigorous maintenance and calibration. “This equipment takes a beating,” said Darold Slone, the district’s snow and ice coordinator. “Think about it: we run these machines in the worst conditions around the clock, changing operators every 16 hours. The drivers get an eight-hour break between shifts. The snowplows do not. We have to make sure each one is in the best possible condition before the first snowflake falls.”
Each snowplow has two drivers, one for each shift. These two men are responsible to make thorough checks of their equipment before each shift, a process which takes about 45 minutes. Their backup is the district’s Equipment Garage crew, a group of certified mechanics, welders, and heavy equipment technicians supervised by Scotty Tackett (no relation to Terry). Headquartered in Pikeville, the crew has mechanics in each county, ready to tackle all but the most serious issues. The Pikeville equipment garage keeps an inventory of parts and tools for 700 pieces of equipment and, like the materials that are spread on the pavement, this inventory is replenished well in advance of the first snowstorm.
COMMUNICATIONS: District 12 partners with the National Weather Service office in Jackson. The Jackson meteorologists focus specifically on weather events in Eastern Kentucky, using satellite, radar data, and weather spotter reports to make decisions on watches, warnings, and advisories. Before and during winter weather events, the Jackson office sets up regular conference call briefings which help us better prepare for the type of storm headed our way. Our 24-hour emergency operations center, located at the District 12 headquarters in Pikeville, is in constant contact with the superintendents at each maintenance facility and the equipment garage. When the first crew is called out, the equipment garage staff is also called out. Every crew is put on alert and called out to mobilize before the storm hits that county. Our dispatchers relay information directly to each snowplow operator. The snow and ice command center at the district office keeps the Transportation Operations Center in Frankfort advised of road conditions throughout the district.
When the first crew is called out, the district’s public information officer, Sara George, is also called out. “It is Sara’s job to notify the public, contact the media, call radio and television reporters, post on Facebook,” Slone said. “She gathers information from our command center, from the weather service in Jackson, from TOC in Frankfort, and from the maintenance superintendents and provides updates to the public so people can make wise decisions about when it is safe to be on the roadways.”
George pointed out that there are nearly 200 people at Highway District 12 who work snow and ice events. “Everyone has a specific responsibility,” she said. “I am always amazed, every year, how everyone works together. I believe the people who live and travel in our seven counties have the best of the best. The determination, dedication, experience, and skills of our people are outstanding. They truly care about doing a good job, an excellent job. When drivers partner with us, drive safely, and make sure their vehicle is winter ready, we can all get where we need to go safely, without wrecks or injuries. After all, that is the ultimate goal: to travel safely, to take care of each other on the roadways, and to survive winter storms with zero wrecks, injuries, or fatalities.”
LAWRENCE COUNTY MAINTENANCE
A ROUTES: US 23
KY 645
KY 3 from the Martin County line to KY 3398
KY 32 from the Elliott County line to KY 2565
KY 644
KY 2565
KY 2566
KY 3S from KY 3 to the West Virginia state line
B ROUTES: KY 201
KY 3 from KY 3398 to the Boyd County line
KY 469
KY 1
KY 1690
KY 3395
KY 3398
KY 1185
KY 1760
C ROUTES: KY 3387
KY 3394
KY 3396
KY 3397
KY 581
KY 707
KY 773
KY 828
KY 2563
KY 1395
KY 1496
KY 2037
KY 1715
KY 2562
KY 1937
KY 3399
KY 2038
KY 2033
KY 3215
MARTIN COUNTY MAINTENANCE
A ROUTES: KY 3 from Johnson County line to KY 40
KY 645
KY 40
KY 2032
KY 1714 from KY 2032 to KY 292
KY 292 from Long Branch to KY 40
B ROUTES: KY 908 from KY 645 to end of state maintenance
KY 908 from KY 40 to KY 292
KY 1884
KY 3 from KY 40 to Lawrence County line
KY 292 from KY 40 to Little Elk Creek Road
KY 292 from Pike County line to Long Branch
KY 1439 from KY 2032 to Wolf Creek Road
C ROUTES: KY 3412
KY 1224
KY 2033
KY 3411
KY 292 from Little Elk Creek Road to KY 3
KY 3413
KY 2031
KY 3407
KY 1714 from KY 1439 to end of state maintenance
KY 1439 from Wolf Creek Road to Pike County line
JOHNSON COUNTY MAINTENANCE
A ROUTES: US 23
US 460
KY 40
KY 321
KY 321X
KY 172
KY 3
KY 1428
KY 2333
KY 2378
KY 689
B ROUTES: KY 1107 from KY 321 to end of state maintenance
KY 469
KY 201
KY 302
KY 825
KY 581
KY 993
KY 1092
KY 825
KY 2039
KY 1559
C ROUTES: KY 3214
KY 2275
KY 580
KY 1409
KY 1624
KY 1750
KY 1614
KY 1596
KY 2040
KY 2560
KY 3388
KY 3389
KY 3390
KY 3224
KY 689
KY 2381
KY 1145
KY 3387
KY 2318
KY 2559
KY 1100
Streets: West Van Lear (2558, 3127, 3128, 3129, 3130, 3131, 3132)
