SEATTLE — It's all hands on deck for the city of Seattle and the Department of Transportation as they prepare their snowplows and other equipment for the winter season.
Snowplow operators were up bright and early Thursday to hit the streets of Seattle while they're still dry for a test run.
“It’s a good change of pace from what we’re usually doing,” said Roman Brazier, a Senior Construction Maintenance Equipment Operator for the Seattle Department of Transportation (SDOT).
The city is hoping to be prepared in the event we experience conditions similar to our last winter where we saw record-breaking snowfall. Last February was also the coldest month on record in Seattle in 30 years.
The conditions pushed the city's inventory of salt of plows very thin.
“I think that every city and every organization wishes they had more resources to do everything they want to do. We work really hard to make sure that the people and equipment we have is practiced and ready to go,” said Darren Morgan, the Maintenance Branch Division director for SDOT.
You can expect to see more snowplows on the road this season. There will be more than 46 pieces of snow and ice fighting equipment compared to about 35 last year, according to Morgan.
That also means more preparation for drivers like Brazier, but he says better to do it now before the temperatures drop below freezing.
“It’s different I like it, I like this time of year. It’s kind of a challenge but at the same time it gets us away from our daily routine – anything that’s a challenge is always fun," Brazier said.
“We’ve got to devise a route so we can turn things around with this big heavy plow so were not jamming up traffic,” Brazier continued.
While crews plan to be ready for anything, the hope is, at least for some, that last season's storm won't repeat itself.