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Butler County gets ready for winter with annual 'Roadeo'

Butler County gets ready for winter with annual 'Roadeo'
Posted at 12:17 PM, Oct 22, 2017
and last updated 2017-10-22 12:19:01-04

BUTLER COUNTY, Ohio -- Two winters in a row with below normal snowfall and warmer than normal temperatures won’t keep Butler County’s snow fighters from preparing for this winter.

“We’ll be ready regardless of what’s on tap,” Butler County Engineer Greg Wilkens told the Journal-News. “Our annual winter preparation is a tradition that’s important and constructive, but also fun and challenging for our snow plow drivers. We look forward to it every year.”

That tradition includes the annual truck “Roadeo,” a friendly competition which allows crews to practice truck maneuvers through an obstacle course designed to simulate winter situations.

Drivers from the Butler County Engineer’s Office are joined by crew members from various other Butler County cities and townships, who also compete for the best times and most accurate truck maneuvers.

Prior to the truck “Roadeo,” crews will also participate in classroom review to learn about current snow and ice fighting technologies and the evolution of surface treatments from slag and salt to calcium and beat juice mixes.

The “Roadeo” will take place Oct. 26 at the Butler County Engineer’s Office.

Snow plow crews will also be out Oct. 25 familiarizing themselves with plowing routes.

Butler County will begin this winter season with 13,000 tons of salt stored in two barns, each with a capacity of 6,500 tons.

The county awarded its salt contract for the upcoming winter season to Cargill Deicing Technologies, which submitted a low bid of $58 per ton, which is almost $10 less per ton than last year. This is a fixed rate so even if road salt is in high demand this winter, Butler County is locked in at that price.

The Ohio Department of Transportation also is getting ready: District Eight, which covers southwest Ohio, hosted a job fair for winter drivers Saturday.

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The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO.