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Owensboro street manager details winter operations: routes, fleet and salt supplies
Summary
Street manager Andrew Osborne told the commission the city runs six snow routes covering about 130 miles, maintains 1,200 gallons of salt brine and stores 2,500 tons of salt and 6,000 gallons of calcium chloride, and uses a mix of brine and salt depending on temperature and weather forecasts.
Andrew Osborne, Owensboro’s street manager, presented the city’s winter operations plan to the City Commission Sept. 2, outlining training, equipment, route coverage and materials on hand.
Osborne said the street department conducts fall training—video instruction, practice driving on controlled courses and dry runs of snow routes—and pairs new drivers with experienced operators. He listed the winter fleet: '6 tandem dump trucks, 2 single axle dump trucks, all equipped with salt spreaders and snow plows,' plus three brine trucks, three backhoes fitted with plows and a wheel loader. The department runs six routes covering about 130 miles.
On materials and application, Osborne said the department maintains about 1,200 gallons of salt brine on site and can apply brine up to 72 hours before a snow event when road temperatures are above 15 degrees; a full brine pass takes roughly eight hours. The city stores roughly 2,500 tons of rock salt and 6,000 gallons of calcium chloride; Osborne said a salting pass for a route uses roughly 80 tons of salt when applied at 200–400 pounds per lane mile and that calcium chloride is used when temperatures fall below 26 degrees.
In a follow-up exchange, a commissioner asked whether the city has tried beet juice as an additive to brine. Osborne replied, 'Nope. It is just salt brine,' and said the department mixes the brine in-house to achieve the correct salinity.
The presentation was accepted; commissioners thanked operations staff for preparedness and service.
