Steve Brewer
Age: 52
Lives: LaGrange
Job: Has worked in the Ohio Department of Transportation’s Oberlin office for
more than 32 years.

What are some jobs snowplow drivers do when it’s not snowing?

When we’re not plowing in the wintertime, then we’re usually working on drainage, filling potholes, maintaining berms. We pick up road-kill … a lot of miscellaneous maintenance that we have to do to the trucks, cleaning equipment. In the summer, I’m involved with the district paving crew — a crew of eight that goes around and mills out bad sections of road and paves them back.

How do you prepare the snowplow before you go out on the road?

The trucks have to be checked out completely, and that involves checking the plow, the operation of the truck, the spinner that throws the salt.

What are some tips for motorists before they hit the road?

Realize that it’s icy, we’re probably going to be out there and we’re probably going to be slowing them down because we’re only allowed to go 35 mph with the plow, even if it’s a 55 mph country road. I’m sure that upsets some, but it’s safer that way. They need to know to give us some room from behind. Cars come up with headlights and we can’t see if our salt is coming out. We all have routes, so we’re not going to be ahead of you for 100 miles.

How long is a typical route?

They average 35 miles.

How long can you stay out before you have to come back for more salt?

Salt will usually last us for about half of our routes then we’ll have to come back and reload, under heavy conditions. Under light conditions we can hit the whole route.

How do you stay awake during big snowstorms?

Well, they’re exciting, it’s a challenge. During the bigger snowstorms, it’s not hard staying awake. When you’re out there because of icy spots or the weather’s coming in and you’re waiting for it, it’s a little tougher then.

Have you ever seen anything unusual during the storms?

You run into some really neat drifts, as high as the top of the car. At times I’ve seen drifts close the road. I’ve hit a few deer with my snow plow; around (state Route) 162 and Quarry Road, I’ve seen, oh gosh, 30 of them out in the field. I’ve seen fox.

Is there any new technology that you use?

All the newer trucks are equipped with temperature-sensing devices. They bounce a beam off the pavement and there’s a little read-out on our dash that tells us how cold the air temperature is and how cold the pavement is, which is important because pavement can be a lot colder than the air and that means that whatever is falling out of the sky is liable to freeze. Bridge surfaces freeze before roadways, so once you go beyond the bridge, you’ll see the difference.

What are those parallel white stripes one sees on the roads?

We pretreat the roads to prevent the ice and snow from bonding to the pavement. They’re just a solution of water and salt, no worse than salt that we put on the road. On dry days when there’s snow or ice predicted in the next couple of days, we pre-treat the road. It will stay in the road for several days.

Any parting thoughts?

It’s a tough job with a lot of responsibility. Sometimes we’re only inches from traffic and that plow is inches close to the center line and we’re throwing slush, that’s part of the job. We need to clean the road from the center out to do a good job. If you could slow down and give us a little room, we’d really appreciate it. I work with a great bunch of guys. They’re all dedicated employees who work real hard in the winter to keep the roads clean.

What do you do for hobbies or relaxation?

I like to spend a lot of time with my wife, Laura. I like informational TV, computers, sports —right now I’m only following the Cavs. I’m pretty, well, low key.

Who does the driveway at home?

The wife does, ’cause I’m here at work. Sometimes if I get home at midnight or whatever and you can’t see the drive, I’ll shovel it myself, but she keeps it pretty clean. I joke that I want to see it dry when I get home.

Visit Buckeyetraffic.org for road updates.

Chronicle photographer Chuck Humel shines the spotlight on the people of Lorain County each week. Know someone worthy of 15 Minutes? E-mail chumel@chroniclet.com.

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