The snow started early Monday morning, pretty much at the same time many slow plow truck drivers in our region launched into action. The heavy snow puts a strain on snow plow hydraulics, it’s likely the reason why one of South Middleton Township’s fleet failed this morning.
When the fleet does hit the road it costs about $2,400 dollars. Roughly 80 tons of anti-skid and salt gets dispersed throughout the township. South Middleton Township Supervisor Tom Faley says they had 10 trucks on the road and that comes with lots of overtime. “We’re not in a real bad hurt financially however this is hard on our crews” said Faley.
The township is on the brink of burning through their snow removal budget this year, but they have a contingency fund in place if that happens. The money comes from dollars saved during milder winters in the past.
This winter has been unusually severe. On average the plow trucks hit the roads 18 times in any given winter. This year they’ve already hit the streets 18 times and there’s plenty more winter to go.