Plow drivers navigate hazards for safe roads

YATES COUNTY--With the winter weather in full swing bringing snowy streets to the area, Yates County highway employees are tasked with the job of keeping the streets clear for travelers. While they can be seen out plowing and salting the roads, there are many hazards a snow plow operator must take into account while driving.
"When you are out on the road, traffic is the first thing," Lance Yonge said. "Traffic always makes it tough. [...] You have always got to be watching front, behind, sideways, everything. There is a lot of stuff going on in a snow plow so traffic is the main thing. You got other obstacles: intersections to deal with cleaning them off, curbing, any kind of hazards along the road, the wings sticking out the side. There is a lot of stuff to watch."
Yonge said he will be starting his 15th year with the Yates County highway department in April, adding he was a plow driver for eight years before taking on supervisor duties. He said before this job he drove a plow for the town of Milo, adding "I have always worked in the snow."
Yonge said some of the top hazards he tends to come across include things possibly sticking up out of the road that the driver may get the plow caught on, including manhole covers, curbs and railroad tracks. However, he added since 90 percent of the routes are rural, there are not too many of the utility type things to watch out for.
"Our roads really aren't that bad because we are doing all rural type roads," Yonge said. "The Keuka Park route has curbing you have to watch out for, and along with that comes water shutoffs, gas shutoffs, stuff like that might be sticking up out of the road to catch the plows. You have got to be aware of all that stuff."
Yonge said the protocol at Yates County for plowing involves snow watch, where the supervisor on duty will go out and check roads at 3 a.m., and if he deems it necessary he will call the plow drivers by 4:30 a.m. to have them out on the roads before the school buses.
"That's our main goal, to try to be out before the buses," Yonge said. "Certain circumstances might change that, whether it is blizzard conditions or total ice where it is going to take extra time to clear the roads."
Yonge said some of the worst winters he has plowed in were back in the early 2000s, adding the wind is a problem along some roads which can make snowbanks up to 10 to 12 feet high. He said luckily the county has not seen too many wind problems in the past few years. Yonge said when the weather is really bad it can be especially difficult to navigate a plow truck on the road.
"It is very tough with a truck," Yonge said. "Visibility gets hindered. [...] Last week we had that foot of snow, the first trucks out in that it is very hard to find the road. You wouldn't think that, but you kind of go by the seat of your pants, you can feel the crown of the road but it is very easy to get off the side of the road. Next thing you know you are in a ditch. It doesn't happen a lot -- I think we have only had one truck stuck all this season -- but it does happen."
Yonge said the county has 180 miles of road in it, but the county only plows 80 to 100 miles of that road, as the townships plow a lot for them. The county plows are based out of Benton, sending trucks all the way out to Italy Hill up by the Blue Eagle, down south along Chubb Hollow Road to the Pre-Emption Line, along with the northern corner of the county. He said the county has six trucks on the road plowing, including five 10-wheelers and one six wheeler that plows down by Keuka Park, along with various loaders to do the job.
"We have it divided up pretty evenly between the town and the county," Yonge said.
Yonge said last year the county went through between 1,500 and 2,000 tons of salt, calling it a "rough winter." He said this year they have already exceeded that point, adding it doesn't seem like the county has had that much snow, but "it takes just as much to fight a half-inch of snow as it does a foot of snow," because they are fighting whatever is left on the road after they plow.
Yonge said they get a few complaints from residents, mostly regarding mailbox damage.
"Very seldom a plow will actually impact a mailbox," Yonge said. "Most of it is snow damage. Especially last week with the big snow, the snow rolls off the plows. If your mailbox is a little weak on the post, it's off. Then you get people calling and saying 'You hit my mailbox.' We actually didn't hit it. It's not our responsibility to make sure your mailbox is sturdy. [...] Most people understand."
Yonge said the people who plow snow at the county enjoy it, saying it is satisfying making the road safer for everybody.
"You get a lot of gratification out of it," Yonge said. "If you get through your whole route and nothing major happens it is very satisfying."