HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Acting Deputy Secretary for Highway Administration Mike Keiser and Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission Chief Operating Officer Craig Shuey held a media briefing Wednesday to outline plans for winter services, highlight job opportunities, and discuss how the public can prepare for the season.
The public can access travel information on nearly 40,000 state-maintained roadway miles year-round at www.511PA.com, and during the winter they can find plow-truck locations and details of when state-maintained roadways were last plowed. The information is made possible by PennDOT’s Automated Vehicle Location technology, which uses units in the over 2,600 department-owned and rented plow trucks to send a cellular signal showing a truck’s location.
To help the public prepare for the season and share information about winter services, PennDOT offers operational information and traveler resources on its winter web page. The site also has a complete winter guide with detailed information about winter services in each of PennDOT’s 11 engineering districts.
With more than $212 million budgeted for this winter’s statewide operations, PennDOT deploys about 4,700 on-the-road workers, has more than 636,000 tons of salt on hand across the state and will take salt deliveries throughout the winter.
PennDOT is actively seeking nearly 700 temporary equipment operators statewide for the winter season to supplement the department’s full-time staff. Details on minimum requirements, such as possession of a CDL, as well as application information, are available at www.employment.pa.gov. Through the same website, job seekers can apply for over 100 other non-operator winter positions such as diesel and construction equipment mechanics, welders, clerks and more.
If motorists encounter snow or ice-covered roads, they should slow down, increase their following distance and avoid distractions. Last winter in Pennsylvania, preliminary statewide data shows that there were 266 crashes resulting in two fatalities and 116 injuries on snowy, slushy or ice-covered roadways where aggressive-driving behaviors such as speeding or making careless lane changes were factors.
Motorists should prepare for potential wintry weather by ensuring they have supplies in their cars before heading out: food, water, blankets, extra gloves and hats, cell phone charger, hand or foot warmers, windshield brush and scraper, and any specialized items like medications or baby and pet supplies.
