Southern Colorado street, road crews gear up for season’s first significant snowstorm

EL PASO COUNTY, Colo. (KRDO) -- Staffing and expected near-zero temperatures are making the response to the latest winter storm particularly challenging for street and road crews in Colorado Springs, El Paso County and for the Colorado Department of Transportation.

Supervisors said Tuesday that despite a nationwide shortage of drivers, they are able to maintain full call-outs through Wednesday -- 47 crews for the city, 52 crews for the county and between 80 and 100 crews for the state's southeast region.

However supervisors said that crews didn't pre-treat roads with liquid salt before the storm because of the drop in temperatures during the next few days.

"We have a spray bar that can spray onto our sand/salt mix and make it even more effective," said Jack Ladley, the county's deputy public works director. "And because of the extremely cold temperatures, we determined operationally that would be a better return on investment. If we go out and pre-treat, we're just not going to see the effect that we want to see from it. Because there is a potential for it to freeze. So that's something we have to be careful of."

Supervisors also have had to shift personnel around because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

"If this (snow) would have hit a couple of weeks ago, we might have been in some big trouble," said Corey Farkas, the city's operations and maintenance manager for public works. "We had over 19 folks who were out with COVID, plus open positions. At this point, most of those folks have come back."

CDOT advised drivers to be alert, drive carefully and leave plenty of space between other vehicles and plows.

"While we're prepping and planning for this incoming storm, motorists should do the same thing," said CDOT spokeswoman Michelle Peulen. "If you're able to telework, or work from home, please do that. The fewer plows on the road, the better our plows can respond."