Highway Operations

 

Snow & Ice Removal

The Clermont County Engineer maintains a field staff sufficient to handle all snow and ice control for the county roads.  These workers are required to maintain a Commercial Driver’s License (CDL).  All full-time personnel work on highway crews year round. 

Key Points

  • We maintain a state of readiness for winter weather from the beginning of November through the end of March.  During this time, two full teams alternate “On Call” status for first response to a snow event.  The team that is not “On Call” is still responsible to maintain readiness in the event that extended snow and ice cleanup requires more than twelve hours of work. 

  • The Foreman on call for the week and the Highway Operations Manager confer prior to all winter storms approaching the area.  These two determine the severity of the storm and the manpower needed to combat the situation. 

  • Anti-Icing is a technique of applying a chemical agent to the pavement prior to a covering of snow and ice.  De-Icing is the process of removing snow and ice after it has accumulated on the roads.  It is the policy of the Clermont County Engineer’s Office to use Anti-Icing techniques whenever possible.  This creates a salt brine over the roads and prevents hard packed snow from adhering to the roads.

  • Only Sodium Chloride (salt) and Calcium Chloride are used on the roads.  These chemicals are both operational and cost effective.

     

Massive Snowfall Contingency

In the event of incapacitating severe winter storms, all county operations would be guided by the  Emergency Management Agency (EMA) at the Communications Center.  Included in this operation are the County Sheriff, the County Engineer, and the Ohio Department of Transportation.  The individual township and municipal highway departments, and possibly the Ohio National Guard could also be included in these operations.  Decisions are made here, as to which roads will be cleared first based on emergency vehicles and access to hospitals.  From that point, roads are cleared on a basis of traffic use.  The Engineer’s Office along with the communications center, ODOT, and local governments are currently developing a more intense major event plan that addresses multiple issues.

 

Capabilities

18 Snow Routes
Each route is 20 - 24 miles in length
          2 Drivers maintain each Route (A & B Teams)
Each Route uses a Single Axle Dump Truck with a capacity of 9 tons of salt
          It takes approx. 3-4 hours to complete a salting application (longer for plowing)
Facilities
Batavia:     5000 tons of salt stored under shelter
                Two Front End Loaders and operators
                Dispatcher for all Routes (records all roads completed, handles
                         problems)
                2 - 4 mechanics from Fleet Maintenance
        Washington Township "Buchanan House"
                1500 tons of salt stored under shelter
                One Front End Loader and operator/mechanic
        Miami Township
                1000 tons of salt stored under shelter (at twp site)

SPECIAL NOTES

The Clermont County Engineer is not responsible for several snow & ice control aspects:

A. Mailboxes and fences damaged during snow removal will be evaluated on a case by case basis. Only those mailboxes and fences that were properly located and installed, and which were damaged by actual contact with County equipment will be repaired at the County’s expense. The mail box owner is responsible for repair or replacement of the mailbox if the mailbox was damaged by the pressure of the plowed snow and there was no physical contact with the plow equipment.

 

B. As snow is plowed from roadways, windrows can be created at the end of driveways and are the property owner's responsibility to clear. Residents are reminded that it is unlawful for them to plow or blow snow from driveways onto or across county roads.

 

C. Snow truck drivers are not responsible for salt or snow distributed from the snow fighting equipment.  Drivers are urged to stay 50 feet behind a snow truck, and to remove vehicles and property from the right-of-way to protect them from damage.  Residents must remove parked vehicles from county roads to assist in snow removal.

d. Drivers are also urged to give an oncoming snow truck right of way.  During the winter months, the berm or shoulder of the road is often too soft to support the weight of a loaded salt truck.  These drivers cannot move off of the road to let oncoming traffic pass on narrow roads.  If you see a salt truck approaching on a narrow road please be courteous and pull off into the nearest driveway and let the snow truck pass.