The Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) recently received the American Public Works Association (APWA) Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award for 2013. ODOT is the only state department of transportation in the country to receive this distinguished honor.
“Our people do great things every day and it’s nice to be recognized for the superior level of service we are providing to our customers – the motoring public,” said ODOT Director Jerry Wray. “Motorists are less tolerant of failure in snow and ice control than in any other highway function. Unless a storm is handled capably by our maintenance forces, it can upset the daily routines of individuals, adversely affect business, and endanger public safety.”
The APWA says ODOT was selected for the award because of the agency’s high standard of service for snow and ice removal on 43,000 miles of highways, using 1,600 snow plows, 3,000 employees, and more than 650,000 tons of salt stored at 200 locations around the state.
So far this winter, ODOT has used 738,948 tons of salt statewide at a cost of almost $81 million. Compare that to last year’s mild winter when ODOT used 368,669 tons of salt and spent $43,817,204 to date. Currently, the agency has roughly 300,000 tons of salt on hand.
The APWA’s Excellence in Snow and Ice Control Award was established to promote excellence in the management and administration of public works snow and ice operations. The award also promotes the best practices in snow and ice removal, while minimizing environmental impacts. Any public works agency actively involved in snow and ice removal and operations are eligible.
ODOT will be officially presented with the award in April at the APWA’s 2013 North American Snow Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina.
About Marion Online News
