Source: Indy DPW Public Information Office
INDIANAPOLIS–Nearly 80 trucks and more than 19,000 tons of salt are ready to be used by the Indianapolis Department of Public Works when winter weather arrives.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett said Thursday morning that preparations are being made by the Indy Snow Force.
“Indy’s Snow Force is preparing for yet another winter season with the same professionalism and vigor we’ve come to expect from Indy DPW. Because of the work they are doing over the next few weeks to prepare before that first snowfall, our city will be able to function when winter finally surfaces,” said Hogsett.
What he says is helping that preparation is a new program that pays union employees to get CDL training (commercial driver’s license). The Department of Public Works is getting $232 million to make improvements to city streets, sidewalks, and other things.
“CDL’s are hard to come by. It’s an issue across industries. Certainly, Indy DPW has faced challenges in that regard,” said Indianapolis Department of Public Works Director Brandon Herget.
Herget says 38 employees have received CDL licenses through the program to date, putting them in as “good of a position they’ve been in a number of years.”
“But whether there are veteran or new drivers in our plows and salt trucks, it’s important to reiterate that we need Indianapolis drivers to use caution when we get snow and ice around Indianapolis, so our crews have time to respond to any weather that comes through the area,” said Herget.
Herget says snowplow drivers need to make a series of practice runs so they know where potential hazards and other infrastructure is before it’s covered in snow or hidden by the need for overnight work. The process also helps drivers understand trouble spots including hills, sharp curves, intersections, and potential drift-prone stretches of their routes.
You can hear the full interview with Brandon Herget below.
