SALT LAKE CITY — After weeks of warm and dry weather, the Utah Department of Transportation is ready to finally see some snow and clear it from the roads.
November’s dry weather gave UDOT snow plow drivers an ample amount of time to prep for this week’s snowfall.
“We’ve gone through our trucks two or three times just to make sure everything is good to go. We’ve gone through all our structures to make sure everything’s clean,” said Robert Giolas, a shed foreman for a UDOT maintenance station.
Because of the lack of snow and rain, Giolas said November was full of different work compared to previous years.
Read - Check out timeline for Thursday snowstorm across Utah
“It’s been a lot different. We’ve been doing a lot more maintenance on the roadway,” he said. “Actually, it’s kind of weird because we’ve been mowing weeds and cutting down trees and mending fences. It’s been so warm it’s been unreal.”
Starting at 4 a.m. Thursday morning, Giolas said members of his team will be up in the canyons, helping crews out there. After a few hours, they’ll head down to the valley to focus on freeways for the morning commute.
John Gleason said they’ve got a team of meteorologist monitoring the weather and pinpointing the roads plows should cover.
Read - Snowbasin Resort plans for opening weekend, hopeful for more snow
“This might not be the biggest winter storm that we see this season, but it marks a transition to the winter weather that we’re used to having this time of year,” Gleason said.
For those of you who will head to work in the thick of it all, Giolas asks that you keep behind the plows, don’t try to pass them, and let them do their job.
“The only advice that I can give is to try to leave early. Be patient, cause once we hit the road, we don’t plow over 35 miles per hour,” Giolas said.
