Comment #19

Letter to the Editor from Huntington Highway Superintendent William Naughton

By Village Tattler, on February 10th, 2013

Bridge and Tunnel Authority trucks arrive at Huntington Highways’ Elwood facility to assist in clearing the roads.

We have just experienced the worst possible scenario with regard to a winter storm. On Friday, it started off raining and quickly changed over to a record 29-inch snowfall. Because of the rain all roads ended up with a thick layer of ice under the snow.

Our primary method of snow removal has always been using local contractors in small 6 wheel dump trucks or pickup trucks. These trucks have had a very hard time plowing the snow because it is heavy and there is a layer of ice under it. The trucks lose traction and are getting stuck. Because of their frustration with getting stuck and damage to equipment, many of them have left service.

Due to the ice our own equipment has become stuck and some of it has been damaged. Yesterday we reached out to Supervisor Frank Petrone and State and County Emergency Management officials to request heavy equipment like payloaders, 10 wheel dump trucks, backhoes, etc. Some of these requests are starting to be filled. We would like to thank these agencies for helping us out in this trying time.

We are operating today with 100 less contractor pieces of equipment than we had yesterday but please be assured that we will not stop until every road is open to traffic.

We appreciate your patience.

Comment #19 to

“Letter to the Editor from Huntington Highway

Superintendent William Naughton”

·         Hutch

February 15, 2013 at 11:32 am · Reply

When the snow starts falling, there are a number of things that should already have happened and a number of things that should be happening throughout the snowfall. #1: All snowplow drivers, private and public, should certainly know how to plow snow. If they don’t, they need some education on the topic (not costly, or time consuming). If it becomes evident that a driver/operator cannot grasp the art of snow plowing, they should not work for the Town, in any capacity. #2: All public snow removal equipment needs to be staged in appropriate areas as to realize their maximum benefit. #3: If 18″-30″ of snow is expected, all plows must be in operation no later than 6″-8″ into the storm. Most plows are not designed to handle more than 8″ of slush and/or wet snow. #4: It is no secret that both the Town and private contractors own and operate Front-end Loaders, Backhoes, and Bobcat style loaders. All these assets need to be brought into the mix, especially in the village where there is a necessity to get rid of the snow, not simply plow it into mounds. If a private contractor refuses to use these assets under his ownership, they need to be terminated from Town contracts. #5: If the Superintendent of Highways cannot manage a simple snow storm, perhaps it is time to reconsider his tenure as an employee of the Town of Huntington (ref. Brookhaven). Lastly, in a town the size of Huntington, there is absolutely no rhyme or reason for the tax-payers to put up with, or accept, this type of performance from the people we elect to run our government. It seems that most of our public officials in the Town of Huntington have been with us for quite some time; if it’s time for a change, let’s not only demand it, but exercise our vote to bring that change to fruition.