BANGOR — Don’t let the crisp fall afternoon fool you. It’s late October in Maine, which means snow is coming any day now.
“We usually start preparing in September, making sure we have enough salt in our sheds all around the region,” said Steven Thebarge, region manager for Maine DOT.
Thebarge said the Maine DOT has plenty of plow drivers, but some local public works departments, including Bangor, are facing shortages.
“It’s a good, full-time employment with full-time benefits,” explained Steve Smith, the interim director of Bangor Public Works. “You get to help the community by clearing the street and play with the big Tonka trucks.”
Not only are they hiring plow drivers, they’re purchasing literal tons of salt.
“We usually use around 32 to 35 thousand tons in this region,” Thebarge said. “Obviously statewide, it’s much more than that.”
Thebarge and Smith had some closing words to drivers about how you can help make their jobs easier.
“You’ll know when we’re doing the parking ban,” Smith said. “Please don’t park on the street. Give those big trucks some space.”
“Drive slow. Just slow down,” Thebarge tells people. “Give yourself extra time to get where you need to go and just watch out for our drivers.”
A chance of snow is in the forecast for later this week, so be ready to bundle up.