By Pat Jenkins The Dispatch If you think the weather has been a little dicey lately with wind and rain, wait until the heart of winter in a few months. That's what road crews for Pierce County are getting ready for. They assembled recently at the county maintenance facility in Spanaway to spend two days driving their snow plow routes, setting up and recalibrating equipment for clearing snow and ice from roads, and reviewing the county's plan for changing roads from slippery to drivable. The dry runs are with an expectation of severe winter weather. Some meteorologists are predicting a relatively mild season, with the most potential for snow coming in late December and mid to late-January. But Mother Nature is known for her independent streak, so to be on the safe side for the motoring public, the county road warriors are essentially planning for nasty conditions, if not the worst. "While mild weather is expected this winter, we'll be ready to respond to snow and ice,GÇ¥ said Bruce Wagner, road operations manager for the county's Public Works and Utilities Department.-á Pierce County maintains 3,150 lane miles of roadway, all in unincorporated areas. Approximately half are key arterial and "lifeline" routes that connect residential neighborhoods to service centers and state highways, officials noted. Those are the roads that get the most attention in any arctic blasts. "Our priorities during a snow and ice event are major arterials, emergency routes, access roads to highways and freeways, and Pierce Transit and school bus snow routes,GÇ¥ said Wagner. "If you can get out of your neighborhood and reach a key arterial, you'll likely find a drivable road.GÇ¥ When a severe winter storm is forecast, road crews apply anti-icing products, assuming all such resources are available. If roads are hit with heavy snowfall countywide, trucks equipped to plow and de-ice will be deployed 24 hours a day until conditions improve. Patience is golden, but citizens can request service by calling Public Works and Utilities' road division any time at 253-798-6000 or going online at www.piercecountywa.org/rfa, officials said. The amount of snow-and-ice-removal that a road receives is determined by weather conditions, the significance of the roadway for moving higher-volume traffic, and available resources. Wagner said people can help themselves in times of snowy driving by making sure their vehicles are "in good working condition and putting together an emergency kit for their car." Important items include blankets and flashlights. -á
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