With snow predicted this week, will PennDOT be able to clear the roads with limited staff?

As snow looms in the forecast this week, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation has been trying to fill hundreds of snow plow driver positions across the state to prepare for the upcoming winter weather.

And it hasn’t been easy.

Currently, PennDOT has filled 40 percent of the 695 temporary operator positions and 93 percent of their permanent operator jobs, according to agency spokeswoman Alexis Campbell.

PennDOT, like other organizations looking to hire professional truck drivers with commercial licenses, has seen a steady decline in applicants in recent years, Campbell said.

Crews might get a hint of how their current staffing works out Wednesday when light now is expected in the morning. Accumulation is expected to be about an inch, so it won’t be much of a test. The impact of staffing in fact will hinge largely on the amount of snow that falls in the Commonwealth this year and where and when.

Pennsylvania is one of six states facing a major drop in plow drivers for the upcoming winter, according to AccuWeather.com.

To maintain roads and bridges statewide, PennDOT uses 2,350 trucks, plows and salt spreaders. This year, the company is expecting grounds to be treated by 4,700 on-the-road workers according to its winter guide.

The agency would like to fill as many of the remaining positions as possible, including the 60 percent of temporary driver jobs that remain vacant. PennDOT could make do with fewer temporary drivers, but that means the drivers it does have might have to work extended shifts or more shifts than they would like.

“Those 695 operators just help to lighten the load for everybody and helps us to be as efficient as we can. Our job is to make sure the roads are safe and passable during the winter,” Campbell said. “We’re going to do that through our full-time staff who we have in offices across the state and through those winter operators that we hire as well.”

How will they handle snow if there is a shortage of drivers?

PennDOT has mobile equipment teams on standby in all districts, ready to be deployed where needed.

“We have the ability to move folks around,” Campbell said. “‘If winter weather is expected in one part of the state and not in another part, we’re able to move teams to supplement their staff.”

Working ahead and preventing ice from forming in the first place can help with managing limited staff.

PennDOT may treat roads with salt brine from anti-icing trucks before precipitation hits. But salt brine is not a silver bullet and it isn’t appropriate for every storm.

Crew members will not pretreat with salt brine when a storm is expected to start as rain, as the rain will wash the material away.

“During a winter event, PennDOT will have crews treating roadways around the clock as warranted,” Campbell said. “Our goal is to keep roads safe and passable rather than completely free of ice and snow. PennDOT will continue to treat roadways throughout the storm and begin the cleanup process of clearing the entire roadway corridor once precipitation stops.”

Not all roads are maintained by the state. Some are treated by local municipalities. Although most municipalities have their own snow removal operations, PennDOT still provides additional support.

“They sometimes help clear our roads that are within certain municipalities. So we all work together to make sure that the roads are safe and I think that’s another important thing for drivers to remember,” said Campbell.

What will fewer plow drivers mean for travelers?

“We want to make it clear that people don’t need to be scared or think that the roads are going to be a disaster all winter long because it won’t be,” Campbell says.

She also said residents in neighborhoods should be patient, as PennDOT prioritizes heavier-traveled roads, such as interstates and expressways.

Motorists are encouraged to avoid unnecessary travel during inclement weather. But motorists who must travel during a storm should slow down.

“It makes it safer for everybody and it helps our crew to move around more easily,” Campbell said. “If you’re stuck in traffic, so are we.”

For residents who must travel the roads during winter weather, see PennDOT’s winter driving guide for safety tips.

Drivers in Pennsylvania also can use 511.PA.com, a repository for traffic updates, restrictions and closures for PennDOT roadways and turnpikes. The website and smart phone app features up-to-date traffic conditions year-round.

“You can even track snowplows through GPS and you can zoom in on your area and see where our plows are and it’ll estimate when they’ll make it back around to certain locations,” said Campbell.

What are they doing to recruit drivers?

Since October, PennDOT districts began holding recruitment events such as open houses and job fairs across the state. PennDOT has hundreds of job openings, from equipment operators to diesel mechanics to welders.

Campbell said the company reached out to more than 900 Commonwealth retirees with CDL qualifications to make them aware of the opportunity to return to service as on-demand truck drivers.

Campbell said PennDOT hires temporary seasonal workers to supplement permanent full-time staff. Many of those temporary workers eventually move into full-time careers with the department.