The tools that keep the county moving in winter

<<Sounds of winter weather>>

Narrator Says:

It’s essentially the same formula every winter, the weather strikes.

<<Sounds of equipment cleaning up>>

Narrator Says:

And the King County Road Services Division as well as Metro Transit are tasked with keeping roads as clear as possible, and with keeping people moving.

This, of course, requires not only the work that takes place on the roads themselves, but also plenty of work behind-the-scenes.

In severe winter weather, some of the county’s equipment can be running around the clock, causing plenty of wear and tear.

It’s then the job of the county’s mechanics to diagnose the problem and get the equipment back up and running.

King County Assistant Equipment Supervisor Steve VanSickle Says:

After pieces of equipment are out there on the road, when they go out on the snow and ice, they're out there for 24-hours a day. And they've got a multitude of different drivers running the equipment, and it seems like when they're running like that they tend to lack the maintenance you would normally have.

So you start after three or four weeks of running like that, you start having situations where chains are breaking on the sanders, and hydraulic issues and things like that in general. So it catches up to you after time. And that's kind of what we have to do for the next two or three weeks after that happens is trying to get caught up with those kinds of issues. Get our supplies built back up for the sanders and the plows and things like that.

Narrator Says:

This was one of the worst winters King County has seen in years. With rounds of heavy snow and flooding, so it takes a lot of work to keep a fleet of vehicles and equipment running.

On top of running for such extended periods of time, the county’s equipment is exposed to the harsh elements.

Sanding streets and plowing snow in freezing temperatures for hours on end is hardly an easy task for both the drivers and for the workers responsible for keeping the county’s sanders and plows operating.

King County Assistant Equipment Supervisor Steve VanSickle Says:

This is another one of the sander trucks that we're putting back into shape after the winter event we had here. Some of the big problems that we're seeing is electrical problems. It just seems like the sand really attacks the wiring and creates a lot of grief for them. We may not see them for a month down the road, all the sudden it crops up and so we're chasing our tails with that quite a little bit.

Narrator Says:

Harsh winter weather events can sometimes mean a little team work between two divisions.

As the Road Services Division is clearing roads, Metro Transit is using those roads to keep people moving during the severe weather.

The busy work is abundant in Metro maintenance shops during big snow events too.

The wintry conditions can be pretty tough Metro buses as well.

The chaining process for instance, where at South Base it takes about eight to 10 hours to chain its roughly 270 coaches, can mean having to pay closer attention to tires, and making sure they’re consistently safe to drive on.

King County Transportation Supervisor Dennis Pingeon Says:

What you can see if you look at the racks behind us, we have a large amount of tires available to put on the buses. And not only are they in charge of repairing tires, but also on the contract we actually run our tires base on wear. So a huge part of their responsibility is to go out and look at the yard every two weeks and measure the tire to make sure they're safe to put on the road.

Narrator Says:

With wetter and colder conditions come dirtier roads and therefore dirtier coaches.

Keeping the coaches clean during the winter is not just for aesthetic purposes.

The steaming process also makes it a lot easier to find minor repairs, and keeps coaches from over-heating.

King County Transportation Supervisor Dennis Pingeon Says:

And his responsibility is to steam several buses a day so we can get them ready for our inspection process. And the reason we steam buses is not only to keep them clean but when we keep all the dirt and contamination off of the engines and the transmissions, that helps to reduce heat. The other thing is if we steam them before our inspection process, it allows the mechanics to have a cleaner work environment and it allows our inspection crew to spot oil leaks, and worn components much more easily.

Narrator Says:

This past winter was one of the most challenging in recent memory for Metro, as four significant snowstorms hit the county in December, limiting Metro service and damaging several coaches,

It was another reminder that the work of maintaining a 1,300-bus fleet in sometimes daunting weather conditions is never done.