Youngstown preparing for weekend snow
It was this time last year that Youngstown taxpayers and a councilwoman asked the city to do a better job plowing the roads.
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It was this time last year that Youngstown taxpayers and a councilwoman asked the city to do a better job plowing the roads.
In response, the city's deputy director of public works said they needed more help and pointed to a fleet of aging plows, as well as manpower as part of the problem.
Now, as the Valley braces for what could be an impactful weather event, Youngstown city officials say you can expect their plow drivers to be working overtime.
"We will be out here doing our job. We will be working 12-hour shifts continuously," said Youngstown Building and Grounds Commissioner Kevin Flinn.
In the garage and ready to go are 16 plow trucks. The fleet is getting up there in age. The oldest truck a 1999 and the newest 2008.
"It's none stop maintenance, especially when we do have a snow event because of our infrastructure, our brick roads, they (the plows) do take a beating, so we typically lose a handful of them right of the rip," said Flinn.
The city is borrowing two trucks from the Ohio Department of Transportation since the city has been given the added responsibility of maintaining Madison and Himrod Expressways.
In the meantime, the city has ordered two new trucks of their own but they won't be in until spring.
"The mayor is focused on updating the fleet hoping to get two per year moving forward," said Flinn.
The city had about one-thousand tons of salt delivered just in time for this weekend's snow. Officials say that will be enough for the weekend, but it's undetermined if it will be enough for the season.
What we do know is that city plow truck drivers are faced with the challenge to do what they can, with what they have.
"There are so many different factors that come to this problem. I mean, the number of streets we have, the infrastructure, the age of the fleet. I mean, more trucks and more drivers would help. But then you have to start thinking about our budget situation in the city," said Flinn.