No matter how many years you’ve been in this line of work, one thing remains true: the road will always find a way to surprise you. One day everything’s running smooth; the next, a plow’s buried to its axles in a snowbank, a backhoe is on its side in a ditch, or your only salt spreader decides it’s the perfect moment to quit.
When the unexpected hits, how ready are you to respond?
It’s easy to get caught up in the daily grind, patching potholes, clearing culverts, mowing shoulders, and assume things will keep rolling along. But take a few minutes and ask yourself:
No highway department has unlimited budgets – we get it. But there are ways to build resilience:
You can’t plan for every curveball the road throws your way, but having a solid response plan can turn a disaster into just another bump in the road.
So take a fresh look at your readiness. Think through the “what ifs.” Check your mutual aid contacts. Train your crew. A little preparation now can save you a whole lot of scrambling later.
Because when the unexpected happens – and it will – the goal is to be ready, not caught off guard.
Putting together a Job Safety Analysis binder from scratch sounds like one of those projects you tackle with good intentions, right up until you are t…
If you have ever stood at the front of a room full of highway or public works crew members with a PowerPoint clicker in your hand, you already know th…
If you have spent any time in public works, you already know that job titles can be about as consistent as spring potholes, meaning not very. One town…
Rainy Days Are Safety Days: Why Every Highway Superintendent Should Keep a Training Binder Handy As every highway superintendent knows, no two days in…
A survival guide for highway supers with frayed nerves and a half-empty coffee mug. The Anatomy of a Board-Induced Migraine Town boards are like aspha…
Highway departments love tools, but they love usable tools even more. When towns start shopping for an asset management system, the conversation often…
