Prince Frederick, MD – Calvert County Highway Maintenance Division Chief Robert Harms confirmed the looming blizzard has created an “all-hands-on-deck” situation. A lot of hands driving heavy machinery were ready to go to work Friday afternoon, Jan. 22 as Calvert County prepares to deal with heavy snow, high winds and what are likely to be sustained wind chills.
According to Calvert Department of Public Safety Director Jackie Vaughan, residents are not being asked to drive cautiously but rather are being advised to not travel at all during the blizzard.
“All our staff is ready to go,” said Harms, who told The BayNet the county has over 100 pieces of equipment and 30 different contractors “just for the snow.” In addition to dump trucks, pickups, backhoes and other emergency vehicles, Harms said the county’s tree crews would also be deployed throughout the storm to remove downed trees and other debris.
“We’ll be out monitoring throughout the storm,” said Harms.
The Maryland State Highway Administration (SHA) is also ready to plow and treat the state roads in Calvert County. At the SHA’s Prince Frederick shop, Assistant Resident Maintenance Engineer Sidney Proctor told The BayNet 14 state trucks, seven pickups nine loaders and three backhoes will be on the roadways. The SHA also has 40 “hired trucks” and three hired pickups working the storm. The SHA’s storm fleet includes two Gradalls, two salt brine trucks plus a crew in a Bobcat that will clean sidewalks.
“Once it starts hitting the ground we’re going to take care of it,” said Proctor.
According to Captain Todd Ireland, Patrol Division commander for the Calvert County Sheriff’s Office, the agency is doubling up on patrols with all those deputies traveling in four-wheel drive vehicles. Ireland declined to say how many deputies would be on patrol during the blizzard.
At Calvert Cliffs Nuclear Power Plant in Lusby, employees have prepared the site for the massive storm. “Since the storm was identified, Calvert Cliffs workers have implemented established procedures to ensure that all outside equipment, materials and other items are properly secured and the site is further prepared to protect against storm-related impacts,” said Calvert Cliffs spokeswoman Lacey Dean. “When extreme weather hits, operators will enter procedures to increase equipment monitoring to minimize or eliminate weather-related problems. Additionally, additional personnel are staying onsite through the weekend to ensure we have the needed staff already onsite to support continued safe operation of the facility.”
How are you coping with the weather? Let us know! Contact Marty Madden at marty.madden@thebaynet.com
