With us dipping into colder temperatures NDOT is already prepping for winter weather by checking their equipment.

You might think prepping the roadways for snow starts when winter does, but it actually starts when the last winter ends.

The Nevada Department of Transportation starts by checking its equipment and making sure it is in good shape, giving the machines the required maintenance, and replacing parts.

As fall approaches, they start ordering salt for the roadways and getting stockpiles built up so they can be ready for the first snowfall of the winter.

Andrew Lawrence, Assistant District Engineer for NDOT, says, "We always want to be prepared, and we want to know when to order and stockpile the material that we think we're going to need. When we have a light winter, sometimes we may not use it all, and we'll have some for the next year. Other times, you know, we're reordering mid-season."

NDOT also has a liquid brine. During their biggest year of snowfall, they used a million gallons on the roads in district two.

"So, there are a lot of things that have to be maintained and kept in good order to get the right product down, Lawrence said. "It's actually kind of down to a science in terms of how much material you want to apply. If you apply too much material, you may be wasting material. If you apply not enough, you may not get the intended effect that you want out of that. So, ensuring that everything in the truck is working properly is very important from just an efficiency and productivity standpoint."

All of the brine is funded through gas taxes.

Lawrence explains, "So the revenue comes in through the gas tax. And that is split out across the construction projects that you see around, as well as the maintenance operations that we do here."

They also have a few different snow removal machines they use each winter.

"So those are towed behind the plow itself," said Lawrence. "And then we also have snowblowers. So those are used more in our mountain passes, where we get that heavy snow, which is where the road may have to close. And then we're going out and cleaning up three or four feet of snow in one pass."

There are also two kinds of salt NDOT works with to melt the ice and snow off the roads.

"So, we have our road salt, which is used to mix with our sand, which gives us both the abrasive properties to help with traction as well as the salt for kind of the deicing. We also order sea salt, and the sea salt is a more pure version of that salt that we use to make our brine."

They also have 240 employees working each winter to make sure the roads stay clear.

If you see equipment on the roadways, be sure to slow down, stay aware of your surroundings, and give workers plenty of room.

"So again, when these things come up, try to only take those essential trips," Lawrence said. "You know, one of the biggest challenges for us is that we run into a lot of vehicles that get stuck or vehicles that break down that were not prepared for that weather. Well, now, not only did that cost you time, because now you're waiting for a tow truck and everything else, but also, come on, weather. But it also really slows our staff down because now we might have 5 or 10 miles of roadway that we haven't been able to plow while we're waiting for those disabled vehicles to be removed. So again, take only those essential trips that you absolutely have to have. Take your time and plan accordingly."

If you are interested in working for NDOT as a temporary winter maintenance employee, you can see their job listings by clicking the link here.