LANSING – With the official start of winter just weeks away and holiday travel season right around the corner, road crews are preparing.

In Oakland County, which has 2,600 miles of county roads and 310 miles of state highway, drivers are being trained and trucks equipped for the challenge, said Craig Bryson, public information officer for the Oakland County Road Commission.

The county has more than 100 plow and salt-spreading trucks, which are ready at all hours at an operating cost of anywhere from $6 million to $8 million for the winter.

A 24-hour storm can cost the commission more than $500,000 for salt, maintenance, fuel and regular and overtime wages.

Preparations include ensuring enough salt to de-ice the roads, Bryson said. The salt is delivered as needed.

The commission spends nearly $3 million per year on salt, he said. It determines how much it needs based on a running five-year average of use and other factors. The commission then takes bids from suppliers.

Oakland County doesn't use sand on paved roads because it can clog storm drains and it doesn't melt ice. The commission uses sand primarily on dirt and gravel roads.

Bryson said the commission will begin running a night shift as well as a day shift in the coming weeks.
Wayne County is getting ready, too.

Lorenzo Blunt, director of roads for the Wayne County Department of Public Service, said the commission is doing what it does every year.
"It's Michigan and we expect it to snow every year," Blunt said.

The department has 100,000 tons of salt on hand, and has already outfitted its trucks with salt spreaders.

Wayne County has the state's largest fleet, with about 160 salt trucks.

Northern Michigan counties got an earlier start.

Brian Gutowski, manager of the Emmet County Road Commission, said preparation began in September.

"We're ready to go by mid-October," he said.

His commission stocks around 17,000 tons of salt and 12,000 tons of sand, as well as a liquid additive called CM90, which makes salt more effective, Gutowski said.

Ohio-based Blackfoot Co., a producer of the additive, said CM90 can reduce the amount of salt needed on a roadway by up to 60 percent.

Emmet County is trying to rely less on sand because it's less effective than salt, Gutowski said.

Sand doesn't work well on straight-aways so the commission applies it primarily on hilly and curvy roads, he said.

In the Upper Peninsula, the Department of Transportation's Superior region crews will use several methods to remove snow from the roadways, including pre-wetting roads with a 23 percent brine solution, using new plows that attach to the side of trucks, to make it easier to remove snow in one pass, and using a new laser device to help prevent collisions with mailboxes and parked cars.

MDOT maintenance crews work three shifts per day, providing 24-hour service seven days a week.

Nov. 12-18 is Winter Hazards Awareness Week to encourage familiarity with the hazards of Michigan winters and the problems of heavy snow, cold temperatures and other seasonal dangers.