The Pulaski County road and bridge crews are gearing up for the winter season and are prepared for any winter weather in Central Arkansas, according to county authorities.
Pulaski County spokeswoman Cozetta Jones said the eight vehicles for winter are ready, with four dump trucks.
"That's four dump trucks that scrape the ice and snow as well as dump a sand mix," Jones said. "We don't use salt because that eats up the roads and also the trucks as well."
Jones said there are over a dozen employees on call for winter weather, and round-the-clock coverage of Pulaski County roads will be available in icy conditions.
"We have 17 standing employees that are on call; that's every day. That's all the time," Jones said. "And when there's bad weather we can go to a 12-hour shift and just rotate out, and we just respond as needed."
Jones also said the county's response has been improved over the past decade because of improved prediction of severe weather and improved equipment allowing the roads to be cleared quicker for emergency vehicles.
Two snowstorms in late 2010 and again in 2012 took Arkansas by surprise and added a huge cost to the Arkansas Department of Transportation during the winter season. Since then, the department has increased its funding for winter weather just in case that happens again.
County road and bridge Director Shane Ramsey said his crews were prepared then to clear roads for emergency services, and that hasn't changed.
"During some of the past [snowstorms] in 2012, we were ahead of the fire department, emergency management and emergency response," Ramsey said. "We were cutting the trees and moving them to allow them to get to the people who were needing assistance."
Ramsey said a mechanic comes in weekly throughout the year to start the vehicles to make sure they are in good shape for the winter months.
"The worst thing on the piece of equipment is setting, so he makes sure they're in operational status," Ramsey said.
With the 17 employees on call, there are enough to operate the vehicles with escorts to plow snow and ways to deal with many of the effects of the storms, he said.
"We have chainsaws ready to go in case of an ice storm when the trees start going down," Ramsey said. "We can get the roads opened up for emergency personnel."
He also said all the workers on call are to be listening for the call when a potential storm is moving into the area.
In recent years, the county has improved the availability and number of vehicles available to clear snow, according to Ramsey.
"All we had were dump trucks that we used during the summer, and all of the snow plowing, ice plowing stuff had to be outfitted and put onto the dump trucks during the winter," Ramsey said. "We've got trucks that are permanently assigned to be winter recovery, winter clearing trucks."
In addition to permanent dump trucks, Pulaski County has also invested in smaller snow trucks that are easier to maneuver in some parts of the county.
"They've got the plows on the front and they've got the spreaders on the back," Ramsey said. "Capacity-wise, they can't carry as much as the dump trucks. However, on some of our more treacherous roads, they're easier to maneuver."
During the late fall, the road and bridge department will station vehicles in different parts of the county just in case a snowstorm hits. This would make getting a vehicle to any part of the county that needed to be cleared easier.
"Mid-November, we station road graders [in] North Pulaski, West Pulaski, South Pulaski, and then we keep one on the yard that we can drive out wherever we need to," Ramsey said.
In the event of a weather-related emergency, road and bridge will have someone assigned to the telephone for people to call for snow clearing services at 501-340-6800.
"Public outreach helps us know where to go," Ramsey said. "We have our priorities [like] your major corridors -- Kanis, Lawson. We'll open up our major arteries first, our secondary roads second and rural roads third."
Pulaski County Judge Barry Hyde said the most important preparatory job for winter is making sure the vehicles are in working order.
"Probably the biggest thing is checking all their equipment, you know," Hyde said. "Their salt spreader trucks and salt spreader mechanisms themselves and make sure the pumps and everything is in good order where they can rely and depend on it when they need it."
Hyde said the reviews of the safety practices and procedures are also important for the crews going into the winter months.