With winter weather just around the corner, the Missouri Department of Transportation will hold its annual winter operations drill on Thursday, Oct. 16. Motorists may notice an increased number of MoDOT vehicles on state routes during the drill, which will begin at 8 a.m. in rural areas and 9 a.m. in urban areas. The exercise should be completed by 3 p.m. With turnover rates and many positions still open, driver training on this day is more critical than ever.
“Roughly 16% of our plow operators have less than one year of experience, and 40% have less than three years of experience,” said MoDOT State Maintenance Director Darin Hamelink. “This training drill is important to help us prepare before winter arrives. All snowplow operators will drive their routes to get familiar with the details of the road and turn-around points without any snow and ice to contend with.”
MoDOT has approximately 2,400 snowplow operators across the state involved in clearing the roads and bridges when winter weather hits. During the drill, MoDOT employees will react to a simulated forecast of significant snow for the entire state. The department’s emergency operations centers will activate, and all employees involved in winter operations will be deployed to their trucks. Emergency communications systems will also be tested.
“The drill ensures that proper equipment, plowing techniques and safety measures are used by every MoDOT employee,” said Hamelink. “In addition, every piece of equipment—every truck, motor grader, snow blower and tractor—is inspected and calibrated to conserve materials and operate efficiently and safely.”
MoDOT spent more than $64 million on winter operations last year and used 160,000 tons of salt, 2.1 million gallons of salt brine and 229,000 gallons of beet juice.
For the most up-to-date information on road conditions in any winter storm, motorists are urged to use MoDOT’s Traveler Information Map at traveler.modot.org. This map is also available on the Apple Store and Google Play.
