Bangor to trial split day/night winter schedule for highway crews to speed storm response and reduce fatigue

Public Works told the Infrastructure Committee it will trial a split day/night winter schedule for the highway crew beginning in January, aiming to respond faster to storms while capping total duty to about 16 hours to reduce employee fatigue and turnover.

Aaron Hootery, Public Works, described the proposal to divide the highway crew into a day shift and a night shift during winter months, rather than relying on extended on-call hours that can lead to 24- to 32-hour duty periods. He said the department tested a night crew during a recent storm with positive results: "we had a crew on nights during this most recent storm, and it worked out really well," Hootery said, noting the existing contract moves the department from a four 10-hour day schedule in summer to five eight-hour days in winter.

Goals and metrics: staff identified measures of success such as staff feedback, reduced minor vehicle incidents during winter operations and better staff retention. Councilors asked about objective metrics; Hootery said qualitative staff feedback will be a primary early success measure, and he hopes to see a reduction in minor vehicle accidents and burnout over time. He also explained contingency planning for extreme events: crews may still exceed the targeted hours when required for public safety, with rotation and recovery breaks to manage fatigue.

Operational effects and community impact: routine tasks such as pavement patching (not allowed during storms) and vehicle maintenance can shift to night hours. Hootery said night work will likely be limited to snow removal and related tasks and that residents should expect to see crews working at night during the trial. No committee action was required at the meeting; staff provided the update for awareness and planned trial implementation in January.