Snow removal their priority to keep you

safe on the roads

By Chuck Gibson

MIAMI TWP, CLERMONT COUNTY, OH (February 13, 2025) – Chris Burdsall is the Service Director for Miami Township in Clermont County, and he knows a lot about keeping roads safe during a “snow event”.

Keeping roads passable and safe for you, me and all of his road crew is the #1 priority for Chris Burdsall when the snow falls, and icy slippery roads threaten our safety. With the early January “snow emergency” behind us this winter of 2025, and another, though less severe “snow event” upon us, Burdsall sat down and shared a little about the planning and decision-making process that goes into clearing the 158 lane miles of Miami Township roads when the hazards of snow and ice arrive. NOTE: As we sat down on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 11th, a “winter weather advisory” was in effect and Miami Township road crews were already spreading a light treatment of salt on area roadways.

“Obviously we keep a very close eye on any weather predictions,” said Burdsall. “When you’re looking at those, they’re changing every minute. It seems like every time they start predicting a storm days out it’s several inches and then as it gets closer it shrinks down. But we’re always trying to pay attention to the weather forecast.”

More than just the forecast, Burdsall says they constantly monitor the temperatures – plural – referring to both the air temperature and the road surface temperatures. Miami Township has a couple of infrared guns they use to check the temperatures themselves. They also rely on reports from the Ohio Department of Transportation (ODOT) in-ground sensors which are available (to anybody) online at:www.ohgo.com.

“It has weather sensors, traffic updates, traffic cameras; all that kind of stuff,” Burdsall explained. “We just have a couple of the infrared guns. Myself, and the road foreman will go around check – here’s what the temperature is here. Some of our trucks, as well, have temperature sensors on them.” 

They were out early Tuesday morning to get readings in preparation for response to the impending “winter weather” forecast for possible accumulating snow during the day. Road surface temperatures ranged from 36-38 degrees when they checked in the morning indicating a call for a pre-treatment of light salt to melt away the light snow forecasted to keep roads clear and passable. As snow falls, surface temperatures can change quickly. The heavier the snow, the more quickly those temperatures drop. Burdsall must consider all the data when making decisions to pre-treat, what volume of salt to spread and what combination of brine to mix in. Yes, the liquid brine, which Miami Township makes themselves, is mixed with the salt as it is being spread to increase the effectiveness of snow melting off the road.

“If we have a light snow, it (the road) will retain it’s heat for a little while and you’ll see it melt off kind of like it did this morning,” Burdsall said. “At the same time, they’re predicting snow all through the rest of the night; temperature is going to be right about freezing, maybe dip below. I know ODOT, Clermont County and ourselves; we’ve thrown a little layer of salt to help protect against anything freezing up.”

Just after Chris Burdsall and I finished the interview, walked through the service garage, the salt dome and viewed the brine and “beat heat” tanks, the snow began to fall and quickly began to accumulate. The pre-treatment of light salt application took effect melting the snow as it reached the road. Snow continued in the Miami Township area from about 3:30-11 p.m. The trucks were back out after dark spreading another round of salt. By morning the snow was gone from the roads leaving mostly wet road conditions.

Theres more to Burdsall’s decision-making process. After all, he doesn’t want to put down salt when it is not necessary or add wear and tear to the trucks by putting on the plows before needed. Accuracy of the weather forecast is critical. A forecast of snow indicating pre-treat with salt, goes awry in a hurry if it changes to rain washing away the salt. Likewise, waiting to treat and then getting hit with heavier snow will garner complaints about the roads not being cleared. You can understand the impact of his decisions.

“Typically for us it is more of a reactionary thing,” said Burdsall. “If we see in the forecast there’s a good chance of snow, there’s not going to be rain in front of it to wash away the brine, it’s not going to be too windy, we can put down a layer of brine on roads we look at for that.”

Roads with sharp curves, higher speed limits, hills, bridges and things that freeze up and become dangerous more quickly. Burdsall will call for pre-treatment of those, but more often than not he’s waiting until the snow is flying before he pulls the trigger sending the trucks out.

When he does, it’s 12 trucks on 12 distinct routes. Burdsall drove one of the trucks for 12 years and knows first-hand what the drivers face. During normal working hours (winter operations 7 am-3:30 pm) they are out checking the roads watching for snow to begin coming across the road from the edges toward the center. When they see that, it’s “time to get out and get in front of this.” When does it go from brine and salting to mounting the blades and snowplowing?

“Right around two inches,” Burdsall answered. “Two inches and under, we can apply salt, and it will melt off. It doesn’t create the wear and tear on the trucks the plow does. Once you get above that, it’s enough where we can scrape it off and then apply a little bit of salt.”

More than two inches and the plows go on slowing things down.

“You’re talking about doubling, tripling the amount of time to clear the roads,” said Burdsall. “Once we put plows down, everybody knows we’re going to be here for a while.”

During a big snow event, like early January, the crews are out there so long Burdsall has to send them home to get some rest. By then, the main roads have been cleared. The next day, they’re back out there making sure everything is “cleaned up” from edge to edge. Think about it; 12 trucks were out for 16 hours, then 16 more hours followed by a final 12 hours during the early January snowstorm. That was an estimated 576-man hours in less than three days. From the start, the goal is to open up the roads and get the people moving safely. 

“We try to make sure the more traveled roads, the roads that typically have a higher crash volume; we try to make sure we get to those as quickly as possible,” he said. “It’s not always possible. If it’s too dicey for our drivers, it may take a couple extra minutes because it’s a dangerous situation.”

Snow rarely falls during regular scheduled hours. During off-hours, overnight or on weekends, the police call when they see roads conditions becoming unsafe. Already this winter Burdsall received that call at 3:00 a.m. When that happens, he instantly calls in the crew. It usually takes about 45 minutes to an hour for everyone to arrive and get the trucks on the road plowing.

“Some live closer than others. They’re here in 15 minutes,” Burdsall said. “We try to get in here in a decent amount of time. Sometimes it can be dicey getting in here.”

Besides planning the treatment and clearing of the roads for safe passage, the service department has to be prepared with the equipment and supplies necessary for the job. Salt typically comes to mind first and Miami Township is currently well stocked. Think about the trucks and the plow blades. Wear and tear on both are critical to efficient snow removal operations. Snow plow blades can be expensive. Depending on the type, they range from $250 for the old double sided steel edge that lasted 2-3 events before it had to be unbolted flipped over and remounted, to the current blade with carbide on it for $1,000 that last up to 6 years – maybe more. 

Hidden road hazards such as the steel plates used where road construction is underway can cause damaging impacts harmful to the blade and even the truck. Potholes, drain covers and more all become hidden dangers when snow covers them. Snowplow drivers face a virtual whiteout and have to seek markers to guide them along the path of any roadway they’re trying to clear. They are looking for mailboxes, utility poles; anything that helps identify the edges of the roadway. The slippery roads are dangerous for them as well; they’re trying to be cautious for other vehicles on the road and that can lead to them going off the side.  

“In my own personal experience where there was enough snow I could not see where I was going…off the road with a fully loaded truck and just about flipped,” Burdsall recalled. “When it stopped, the truck was sitting on the axle and the plow mount. The tires on the road side were not touching.”

For example, it is common for the snowplow blade to get off the road and damage a part of a yard. It is even more common to see mailbox posts damaged and knocked down by the force of the snow being pushed aside. Drivers try not to let this happen, but it does happen. When it does, people can call, email or even contact the township via form online to inform them of damage to any property.

“In the event a mailbox is knocked over, people can call into our office, give us the address, email us; there’s also a work-order form they can put in through the website,” said Burdsall. “We’ve had all of them this winter. Submit your address and what happened. We’ll be out as soon as we can to at least make a temporary repair…once we have the correct parts, we’ll be back out to permanently repair it.”

It is not easy. It is not fun. It is work, dangerous work. Chris works hard to ensure the safety of his crew while they are out there clearing the roads to ensure your safe passage on the roads when the snow and ice hit.

“I want to keep everybody as safe as possible too. We’ll get to everything, we’ll get there! Let’s keep the public, the drivers, everyone involved safe.” – Chris Burdsall, Service Director, Miami Township, Clermont County, OH

More on Miami Township at: www.miamitwpoh.gov

Service Department by phone at: 513-248-3728

NOTE: Website includes direct access to Service and safety tips for winter weather.

Also visit Miami Township on Facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/MiamiTwpOH