No Plow? Yes, and How
DDOT is also rationing their salt supply
By ASHA BEH
Updated 3:15 PM EDT, Tue, Feb 9, 2010
If you're wondering why your street's not plowed, consider this: about 60 of the District's snow plows are out of order.
According to an internal email obtained by WTOP, 25 percent of the District's snow plow fleet is down and they're having trouble getting replacement parts. The District Department of Transportation is also rationing their salt supply.
The email states they'll have enough to get through the upcoming storm. DDOT has 9,000 tons of salt on hand, with another 32,000 tons coming in soon. The city normally has 40-50,000 tons of salt onhand.
That still leaves several plows that are working -- and you can see their progress on DDOT's Snow AVL Tracking Map two ways: by Step 1, where you can check out live conditions via DDOT's around town cameras (which, like the plows, aren't all in working order) and by Step 2, where you can select a start date, click start, and watch the map fill up with tiny purple, green, royal blue and yellow balloons.
The colors tell you where DDOT has plowed and salted (purple), plowed (green), salted (royal blue) or who-knows-what (yellow = "unclassified").
If you're thinking it's probably a conspiracy to make DDOT look good (or possibly bad, from all the streets that aren't plowed and/or salted yet), you might be right.
Too bad it won't last with all the snow that's expected to come.
First Published: Feb 9, 2010 1:27 PM EDT
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