Brick Public Works (Photo: Daniel Nee)
The blizzard of 2015 will not be a repeat of the Dec. 26, 2010 snowstorm, Mayor John Ducey said late Sunday night.
Brick Township public works crews started using a brine solution on township streets at 12 midnight in anticipation of the powerful storm that could dump between two and three feet of snow on the local area.
“We’ll start off with salting and brining after tonight’s snow,” said Ducey, before the initial inch or so of snow fell in the early morning hours Monday. “Then, at four inches, they start plowing.”
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Brick relies on a plowing effort staffed by crews of the township’s public works department, the Brick Township Municipal Utilities Authority and private contractors. In the Dec. 2010 storm, the use of private contractors was derided by township residents after some streets went without plowing for several days, however Ducey said township contracts have been reworked to ensure that private contractors will plow Brick Township streets before those in other towns.
“That’s all changed now,” Ducey said of the contracts. “We get served first, they can’t bail out on us. We locked them in.”
The township locked the private contractors in to providing service in Brick first based on its bidding process, Ducey said. Beyond the plows, according to the mayor, the township will dispatch vehicles behind the plow trucks to track which streets have been plowed in order to ensure what areas of town need snow removal next.
Plowing has gone high-tech in Brick, Ducey said. GPS trackers attached to each plow to determine which street are still in need.
In addition to the plowing schedules, Brick has placed its police officers on 12 hours shifts and its public works employees on 15 hour shifts. EMS crews have gathered at three fire stations township-wide in order to ensure a base in strategic points in town. When an ambulance is dispatched, it will have assistance.
“If somebody gets called out, they’ll follow the front loader to travel to go and get somebody,” Ducey said.
