Guthrie County is beginning to show signs of winter, but the Secondary Roads Department is prepared for when snow and ice hits county roads.

County Engineer Josh Sebern says winter is at the forefront of the department’s minds, “That’s something that we prepare for all year. We bring in salt. We have a local contractor that brings in salt to us and builds our stockpile through the summer. We have some sand that we’ve been stockpiling as well, so we get ready for that kind of all year. It’s one of our primary duties and one we take very seriously, so we get ready and do the best we can.”

Sebern says the county has an ample supply of salt and a good amount of sand, with an extra stockpile if necessary. He describes how the roads crew reacts when a storm strikes, “When we get a major snow event it’s all hands on deck, everybody’s out. We’ve got 10 motor graders that are out running, roughly a dozen snow plows are running, and we have to have the loaders going to load the snow plows and also the mechanics on duty to handle (issues), there’s always maintenance issues. It’s all hands on deck in a snowstorm until we get the roads cleared.”

In a winter weather event the Secondary Roads Department works from 5 a.m.-5 p.m. to serve approximately 20-25 paved and gravel routes in the county.