Road crews start preparations for winter, remind drivers to ‘slow down, move over’

MIAMI VALLEY — It may be unseasonably warm in the Miami Valley, but Ohio Department of Transportation crews are preparing for winter weather.

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“Everybody wants everybody to get where they’re going safely. That’s what we’re here for,” Brian Day, highway technician for ODOT said.

He is one of the hundreds of drivers who will be ready to clear the roads when the first snowflakes fall.

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ODOT crews spent the day making sure their equipment was ready for the winter.

“We go through every truck, all of our equipment, we do 150 point inspection to make sure that everything is up and ready to go for when winter does arrive,” Loryn Bryson said.

Everything from under the hood to under the truck is under inspection.

But it’s also making sure they have the supplies they need. To start the season off, they have 8,000 tons of salt and that’s just for Montgomery County.

“So as we go, if we need more, we’ll place those orders as needed,” Loryn Bryson, public information officer for ODOT’s District 7, said.

They also want to be proactive using thousands of gallons of brine to retreat roads to prevent icy conditions.

But also be proactive in keeping their crews safe.

Last year 22 plows were hit across the state and already this year 67 crews have been hit.

“Give us that space, help move over, slow down, and be able to let us do our job. That would be incredibly helpful. We would like to see no more crews hit,” Bryson said.

For Day those aren’t just numbers, but friends, co-workers, and potentially even him.

“Slow down and give us room so we can do what we got to do,” Day said.

That is for drivers’ safety too.

“We got a big truck with a lot of weight. We don’t go fast. We’re just trying to do what we can to get the roads clear,” Day said.

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