The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has downsized from ten districts to seven, scaling back in areas many of us may never see. People are screaming for smaller government. The economy has demanded it. So when the agency that’s responsible for keeping I-70, I-35, I-29 and all state roadways safe for travelers and commerce takes one day to fully dress its fleet of snowplows spending $70,000 for fuel to make certain everyone knows their job when snow and ice hits, we should encourage their preparedness. That cost is only 0.0017 of their $42 million winter budget.
Training first responders, which includes public works departments, saves lives. In one of the American Public Works Association’s largest surveys to governments that had recently experienced a federally declared disaster, nearly 800 communities across the country agreed that training is a top priority.
As winter approaches with its challenges of snow and ice, remember that while doing more with less has become the mantra for most winter maintenance operations, Mother Nature doesn’t promise to back off. We all must be prepared. Running snow routes and testing equipment and communications is simply common sense – and they don’t make an app for that.
Upon safely reaching your destination this winter, remember it’s possible because like all professional highway and public works departments, MoDOT invested in safety.