Cities throughout the Kansas City metro area are bracing for a long night clearing streets after wintry weather Monday.
Olathe, Overland Park and Kansas City have crews out into Tuesday morning plowing and treating streets with salt. When temperatures drop, some cities use calcium chloride along with the salt to help melt snow and ice more quickly.
Another tool at the disposal of crews in Johnson County are 15 sensors that were completely installed this summer.
Dan Hurley, an engineering systems specialist in Overland Park, said, "basically it tells us whether the pavement is dry, wet or frozen."
Visit www.stormwatch.com to check out the sensors for yourself.
Olathe street maintenance superintendent Ron Ditmars agreed, "It kind of lets us know what we're up against so we can plan the attack accordingly."
Olathe Snow Plows by the Numbers:
- 55+ snow plows out
- 5+ support staff
- 90+ gallons of fuel a day for each plow
- 12-hour shifts
- 4 is number of times primary roads salted
- 2 number of times primary roads plowed
- 2 number of times residential roads salted
- 1 number of times residential roads plowed
There are some common challenges snow plow operators face when working. Cars that park on the street block access to roads.
Drivers who do not heed the warnings on trucks also pose a threat to themselves, the plow operators and other people on the road.
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Dia Wall can be reached at dia.wall@kshb.com.
