The Guthrie County Secondary Roads department is prepared for the winter season.

County Engineer Josh Sebern says that they have a good stockpile of both salt and sand, as they were able to build that up over the year after last winter. He tells Raccoon Valley Radio that they are continuing to use only the dry mix for de-icing roads.

“We did increase the amount of salt that we put in our mixture. Over the years, we’ve gone from three sand to one salt, two sand to one salt. And last year, and then this year is going to be one to one. That’s the ratio, 50-50, salt-sand. So it’s a heavier salt. The idea would be to use less material because the salt should be more reactive and hopefully provide what we need to get for de-icing capabilities.”

Sebern mentions that they also have been able to prepare their plow trucks as well over the summer. He adds that these preparations include preventative maintenance to get hoses, connections, wires and other parts that could corrode from the salt replaced or cleaned up for the winter.