Kane County is purchasing a couple of new snow plows, spending about $360,000 and saving money at the same time.

How is that possible? By reducing the size of the fleet and investing in more efficient, modern equipment.

“This is the kind of initiative by our county staff that often goes unnoticed,” said Drew Frasz, chairman of the Kane County Transportation Committee. “This equipment is very expensive, and then when you add in labor, fuel and maintenance, you have a savings of literally hundreds of thousands dollars. That’s a big deal, because even as our road system is growing, our fleet is being reduced — due to the experience and knowledge of our management team.”

KDOT Maintenance Superintendent Bill Edwards. CREDIT: KDOT

Kane County Division of Transportation Maintenance Superintendent Bill Edwards said the improvements in the quality of equipment means the fleet is more efficient.

“Our trucks are better now because we have added side plows (wings) on all but one of the trucks on the road,” Edwards said. “That allows us to plow more surface area.”

About 20 years ago, Kane County had only four trucks on the road with wing plows. The county has since added belly scrapers to five trucks, which helps by scraping hard-packed snow off the road.

“Previously, we could only keep re-salting to burn through the hard pack,” Edwards said. “Those trucks are strategically placed on routes throughout the county to be able to help with other connecting routes when necessary.”

Over two decades, the number of plows needed for a full winter event call-out has decreased by reorganizing routes and by increasing driver training.

Some Salty Facts

Salting practices have also changed, Edwards said.

The days of sand-and-salt mixtures are long gone for Kane County. Now, it’s a treated salt, which is more capable with a wider temperature range for operating with better “residual,” which basically is transportation speak for “sticking power.” The treated salt mixture the county uses has magnesium or calcium chloride and a carbohydrate, such as a product from sugar beet or corn, which helps it stay on the road.

While the special mixture helps the melting process, county plows are also outfitted with electronic ground-speed salting controllers. The controllers regulate the pace of the spreader, so as the vehicle slows down, so does the amount of salt that is spread. By applying appropriately calculated amounts of salt along the routes, operations and material use is more cost-effective and ecologically sensitive.

Follow the Fleet

The Kane County’s Division of Transportation has a diverse fleet. Some are dump bodies, some are hopper bodies (also known as v-boxes) and one hook loader body truck so that the vehicles can do other things outside of winter operations.

Dump-bodied trucks can haul gravel, for instance, while hoppers can spread gravel and hook loaders can anti-ice with a 2,500-gallon tank and can haul vehicles and equipment with a flat bed. All are operated by one driver, but sometimes for heaving benching, the county’s three all-wheel drive trucks with larger wing plows on them can take two operators: a driver and a wing plow operator.

The county’s new plows are tandem axle trucks with 12-foot dump bodies, that will be outfitted with an 11-foot front blade and a 9-foot side mounted plow (wing plow) that are often re-used from other trucks. The two new Freightliner trucks will be replacing vehicles that have serviced Kane County for more than 15 years. The county can get 15 to 20 years from snow plows because of their upgraded stainless steel bodies. The stainless upgrade could give KDOT the option to re-use a body onto the next replacement chassis, thus reducing purchase costs.

At about $180,000 a complete new unit, they go through a detailed specification and competitive bidding process in order to ensure taxpayers are getting the best equipment for a fair price, Edwards said.

In this case, the costs were way less than the expected $360,000. The county bid the chassis and body are bid separately, bringing the base price for each unit down to $179,672. The county then got a great deal on the trade-in of four trucks, bringing the cost down to $138,372 per truck, or $276,744 total.

Interested to know more? See www.co.kane.il.us/dot for additional information on winter maintenance operations or call 630-584-1170 with questions.

SOURCE: Kane County Division of Transportation

About the Kane County Division of Transportation

KDOT’s mission is to  provide and maintain a safe and efficient transportation system while maintaining the county’s visions and values. Serving a population of more than 520,000, Kane County’s transportation infrastructure is constantly being enhanced to accommodate growth. Kane County Division of Transportation employees are responsible for the maintenance, planning, design and construction of more than 320 miles of roadway. KDOT also provides technical assistance to the 16 townships and coordinates with a number of different state, regional, and local agencies on transportation and land use issues. For more information, visit the Kane County Division of Transportation home page and Facebook page.