DPW adds a new salt truck to its service fleet

Streets Department employee Paul Fager is excited that his new salt truck has arrived. For five years he has been driving a truck the DPW crews call Big Red, which has seen better days.

This new salt truck will replace the oldest salt truck in the fleet and Big Red will be repaired for use as a spare when needed, stated DPW Director of Streets & Solid Waste David Lotts.

The new salt truck comes equipped with a four-camera video system and a wet system for spreading brine. Lotts said, “We are trying a new salt-brine system that the city has never used, where the salt truck sprays a liquid mix on the roads, and as the liquid evaporates, it leaves behind a sheen of salt coating the road surface and preventing snow and ice from building.”

Lotts added, “When you see these salt trucks out plowing, sometimes they need to make U-turns or plow the center of the lane. Please stay at least 200 feet behind them, we need motorists to give us enough room to do our jobs.”