W.C. Highway Department prepares for future snow season

White County Highway Department will be ready to take care of the roadways when inclement weather creeps up fast in a couple of months.

“We are deep into our salt bin project,” Jerry Sawyer, White County highway superintendent, said in a Facebook post. “When I took this job, we had a small salt bin that held around 70 tons of salt, which can be used up in a single snow event very quickly.”

Sawyer said he and his crew have explored different options, but they were all extremely expensive.

“We have utilized one of our bays in our garage instead of a freestanding building,” Sawyer said. “This project is roughly 10-15 percent of the cost of all the quoted prices I received from contractors around the state and will hold upwards of 400 tons when completely full.”

Sawyer said a local company, Red Letter Concrete, will help finish the project. The highway department will then begin the process of filling the bin and getting ready for another winter season.

“This project couldn’t have been completed without help from several of my crew who have helped, plus the guys at Central Maintenance who have assisted as well,” Sawyer said.  “This has been a team effort from day one with the sole purpose of better serving our county during snowstorms.”