Scott County road crews ready for whatever winter throws at them

SCOTT COUNTY, Ky. (WKYT) - As temperatures to drop, road crews are continuing to prepare for winter, despite supply chain issues and staffing shortages.

The Kentucky Department of Transportation says that things are looking good we head into winter. The main changes come from learning from last year’s issues during the pandemic and being proactive ahead of the new season.

Nastasha Lacey, public information officer for Kentucky Transportation Cabinet District 7, says that there is a staff shortage in some counties, but luckily they’ve hired interim drivers in the meantime to help out.

“You know, now we’ve been in the pandemic so long that we know how to prepare. Before, you know, it was all of the sudden we were in this pandemic and things were happening and, now, we know much more about the virus and how to plan ahead,” Lacey said.

While there are shortages in some counties, Scott County is fortunate that they have enough staff heading into the winter and say they are ready for whatever this winter throws at them.

JR Brandenburg, director of roads and maintenance in Scott County, says, so far, they have 3,500 tons of brine on tap, which is plenty for a given year, and are scheduled to receive another 1,000 tons in the next month.

“I am blessed to have a full crew of CDL drivers, got 19 of them, thank goodness. We spent 2-3 weeks mounting all the spreaders, all the blades, to making sure everything is good to go. Got done, maybe a week ago. Everything is ready to go. Don’t want any surprises to sneak up on us in the middle of the night,” Brandenburg.

Governor Beshear recently stated most places in Kentucky are fully stocked and staffed as they head into winter.

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