Page 25 - Mar-Apr19 Vol36 No7

rather than after road conditions start to especially through social media. Weth primary roadways, cutting down on time.
deteriorate also improves response times. wants the public to know that Knoxville The City of Knoxville runs seven brine
Each panel member explained the basic is prepared, so he tries to emphasize the
response plan for his city, and all of them line, “We have salt and we have a plan.” trucks with 1000 gallon tanks, said Weth.
stressed the importance of maintaining a With over 500 lane miles, crews need
centralized command center, or at least a That social media presence extends to roughly ten hours to spread brine before
centralized decision-maker, regardless of the actual snow events, as well. Residents a winter weather event. Crews typically
the shift format. in Knoxville can follow the City of treat roadways 24-48 hours before the
Knoxville throughout a storm and get event is forecasted to hit.
When crews know ahead of time what updates on road conditions and clearing
their shift will entail and can be in place efforts. In Kingsport, they try to meet three
to deal with the weather event quickly, days before the event is predicted, said
roads can be treated with relative ease. Other media outlets are also Hammonds. That allows for the anti-
For the City of Knoxville, outfitting the important. Hammonds emphasized the icing liquid to be spread 36-48 hours
trucks with the appropriate equipment importance of building “trust early with before the snow hits the streets. Typically,
ahead of time means that the trucks will the media and the community.” He said, they try to wait out the rain that often
be “ready to work before the event,” said “When the media calls, be honest with precedes a snow storm in East Tennessee.
Weth. them. Let them know what’s going on.”
One question that prompted much
Be Public By the Numbers discussion was about the preference for
rubber plows as opposed to steel plows.
Both the equipment maintenance Much of the panelists’ discussion and The general consensus was that drivers
events and the actual snow event the questions that followed centered on love the rubber plows as they do less
responses are part of the public’s the actual snow removal equipment. damage both to manholes and to the
perception of how a city deals with Wyatt explained that the City of Alcoa trucks. Rubber plows also last three to
winter weather. During Kingsport’s transitioned to brine operation five to six four times longer than steel. Everyone
week-long snow plow inspection, the years ago. They run six trucks with tanks, agreed, though, that they all keep steel
public is invited to see what’s going on. three outfitted with 1000 gallon tanks, plows on hand.
Hammonds said that it’s “good PR for the and another three with 300 gallon tanks.
community to know that Public Works is With that equipment, the City of Alcoa Door Prizes and Gift Cards
on top of things.” can get all the roads “treated in roughly
three to four hours,” said Wyatt. Because The meeting concluded with a lunch
The City of Knoxville also puts a the City of Alcoa does not cover state provided by CMI Equipment Sales. Door
public face to the Public Works efforts, routes, they can focus their efforts on prizes and gift cards were also awarded,
courtesy of Stringfellow.

View online at tnpublicworks.com 25