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“Safety is the cornerstone of everything we do at MoDOT. The winter weather drill ensures that proper equipment, plowing techniques and safety measures are used by every MoDOT employee.”
Becky Allmeroth
MoDOT Chief Safety & Operations Officer
In preparation for the upcoming winter season, the Missouri Department of Transportation held its annual winter operations drill Oct. 18 and 19. During the drill, MoDOT snow vehicles traveled highways and state routes across Missouri on both days.
With turnover rates and many positions still open, driver training on this day is more critical than ever. Hiring efforts improved over the summer, but nearly 27% of MoDOT's snowplow operators have less than three years of experience, and those past three years did not include many significant winter storms.
The St. Louis district also held a news conference on Oct. 19, where MoDOT leadership, along with staff from the National Weather Service, the Missouri State Highway Patrol and the Illinois Department of Transportation, briefed the media on predictions and preparations for the winter season.
MoDOT has more than 3,000 employees across the state involved in work to clear roads and bridges when winter weather hits. During the drill, MoDOT employees reacted to a simulated forecast of significant snow for the entire state. The department’s emergency operations centers activated, and all employees involved in winter operations were deployed to their trucks. Emergency communications systems were also tested.
Fighting winter storms to get Missouri roads clear is one of the most critical functions of MoDOT. With every storm, every available snowplow operator will work 12-hour shifts covering 24 hours after a storm ends until the major roads are mostly clear.
For the most up-to-date information on road conditions in any winter storm, motorists are urged to use the Traveler Information Map website. It is also available on the Apple Store and Google Play.
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