(LEX 18) — Ever wonder why you see a snowplow driving down your street with its blade up and no salt spreading? The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet wants drivers to know this is completely normal.
According to KYTC, each snowplow operates on a specific route with designated starting and ending points. Before tackling that route, trucks must return to county maintenance facilities to refill their salt supplies.
"Routes are designed so that one full load of salt will cover that entire route — but the route itself may be on the opposite side of the county from the maintenance barn," KYTC explained in a social media post.
When plows travel to or from their assigned routes, they won't plow or salt until reaching their designated starting point. KYTC says if drivers salted along the way, they wouldn't have enough salt to complete their actual route.
The same logic applies to plowing, according to KYTC. Drivers don't plow roads while traveling to their routes because other operators are responsible for those specific areas. If they plowed a road another driver just cleared, they would push salt off the roadway.
KYTC says this system ensures efficient snow removal operations across Kentucky's road network, with each route receiving the proper amount of salt and attention from designated crews.
