Nov 26, 2005 By Rebekah Sungala 3 min read

Come what may, road crews are prepared to keep the roads clear and travelable this winter, even if Mother Nature decides to pound southwestern Pennsylvania with snow, ice and sleet. “Our sweaters are on, the plows are ready, and the salt and anti-skid are stocked,” said Perry Township Supervisor A.J. Boni.

Boni said Perry Township already has hired a “on-call guy” to run the municipality’s third snowplow when needed and said 1,400 tons of anti-skid and 40 tons of rock salt have been stocked.

“We’re ready for whatever happens,” he said, noting that the township usually goes through about 1,000 tons of anti-skid and 100 tons of salt during a normal winter.

And, a normal weather is what forecasters at the National Weather Service in Pittsburgh are predicting despite the recent cold spell Thursday and Friday.

Meteorologist Lee Hendricks said temperatures are expected to hover around the 30-degree mark, dropping into the 20s, for much of December and January, gradually rising throughout February and March.

Average snowfall and precipitation is expected as well, according to Hendricks, who said Pittsburgh and the surrounding area usually receives about 35 inches of accumulation from December to March.

“We’re expecting a near-normal winter,” he said.

However, “near-normal” weather does not mean there won’t be any major storms. Hendricks said it’s usual to have a few storms, or as he says, “cold spells and extreme snowfalls followed by warm spells,” throughout the course of the winter.

Hendricks said there’s no way meteorologists can tell when the first significant winter storm will hit and said “no big storms” are forecasted yet.

But whenever the first storm does work its way across the state, German Township Supervisor Dan Shimshock said he and the other men will be ready.

“We’re in good shape,” he said.

The township, according to Shimshock, recently ordered salt and has about five years worth of anti-skid material stockpiled.

Like Perry and German Townships, other supervisors said they, too, are ready to deal with whatever winter storms bring their way.

Wharton Township, which usually receives more snowfall than other municipalities in Fayette County, has about 5,000 tons of anti-skid stocked, said Supervisor Jim Means.

“Yeah, we usually get a little bit of snow, but we’re ready,” he said, noting that the township usually goes through about 2,000 tons of anti-skid material during a normal winter.

Whenever a big storm hits, Means said it’s not uncommon for road crews to work 12-hour shifts.

“We start at 4 a.m. and we work until about 4 p.m., sometimes even longer. We like to make sure the school buses and people leaving work can get home safely,” he said.

Jay Ofsanik, safety press officer for the state Department of Transportation District 12, said PennDOT road crews are “ready to go.”

The state hired about 30 additional seasonal employees to help take care of 3,634 miles of road in District 12, which includes Fayette, Greene, Washington and Westmoreland counties, he said, adding that the employees, most of whom will operate snowplows, already have been through training and are familiar with their routes.

Ofsanik said PennDOT also has nine fully-stocked stockpiles in Fayette County and said employees encountered no problems when ordering the salt and anti-skid material.

“We’re fully stocked at all our sites and our crews are ready,” he said. “We’ll be out there when the snow flies.”