Winter Recap: 2025/2026 Season
The 2025/2026 winter season brought a steady workload, with a total of 20 treatable snowfall events. An event is defined as a snowfall requiring treatment, though many spanned multiple days due to prolonged or repeated weather systems.
Crews operated across 19 designated snow routes, with most routes covering approximately 20 to 30 centerline miles. This extensive coverage ensures roadways are addressed efficiently and consistently throughout the county.
Our fleet consists of both single axle and double axle dump trucks, allowing for operational flexibility and efficiency. Double axle trucks provide increased material capacity, reducing reload frequency and improving route efficiency during prolonged events. Under normal salting operations, a full route cycle is typically completed in 2 to 3 hours. When plowing is required, cycle times can increase to 4 to 6 hours, depending on snowfall intensity and road conditions.
This season also marked a significant advancement in our operations through the award of the H2Ohio Rivers Chloride Reduction Grant. Through this funding, we invested in brine storage containers, a brine-making system with salinity measurement controls, and truck fill and pre-wetting equipment.
In the first winter using this upgraded brine equipment, we achieved an 8% reduction in salt usage per event. The average salt tonnage applied per lane mile decreased from approximately 300–400 pounds during the 2024/2025 season to 200–250 pounds during the 2025/2026 season. Additionally, the average cost per county road mile decreased from $130.42 in the 2024/2025 season to $110.96 in the 2025/2026 season.
As we continue refining application practices and equipping additional trucks with larger brine tanks and pre-wetting capabilities, we anticipate increasing salt reduction to 20–30% in future seasons. These improvements enhance operational efficiency while supporting environmental conservation by reducing chloride runoff into local waterways.
Effective snow and ice control depends on the coordination of manpower, equipment, and materials. Crews continuously monitor weather conditions and adjust operations to respond to changing forecasts and roadway conditions.
For additional details on our Snow & Ice Control operations, please follow the link below.