You may have noticed a nip in the air on Thursday morning. And that cold air is a harbinger of things to come. So, the question is, how ready is the Pittsburgh region for salting and plowing?

For folks like Tom Bell, Greensburg's public works director, the change of seasons brings a change of focus; from road paving to road plowing, from leaf collecting to salt distribution.

"We always start preparing around August for the wintertime," said Bell. "What was nice last year, I was able to fill my salt bin at the end of last year, so we are ready to go."

Bell and his crew plow and salt over 50 miles of road and 20 miles of alleys in Greensburg, with a 3,000-ton annual allotment of salt.

In January, the weather was so bad that they, and practically everyone else in the region, went through their allotments and had to order more salt and call on friends like Austin Erhard, the public works director from Hempfield Township, for help.

Erhard says that in the winter, everyone helps everyone out.

"You know, at the end of the day, whether you are a resident of the city of Greensburg or a resident of Hempfield Township, if you are passing through, we want to make sure you are taken care of," Erhard said.

Hempfield maintains approximately 300 miles of public roadways with a staff of 28 personnel.

Erhard said that, like Greensburg, they too had an allotment of 3,000 tons of salt for last winter, but went through over 4,500 tons due to the inclement weather. 

This year, he says, they are ordering 4,500 tons to be safe, and if they don't use it, they will store it in their massive salt barn until it is needed.

While crews in Greensburg and Hempfield are staffed up, PennDOT District 12, which spans Washington, Fayette, Greene and Westmoreland counties, with over 3,500 miles of roads, says they are ready for winter, but are still hiring for the season.

"We are still hiring in all four counties," said Robb Dean, the Assistant District Executive for Maintenance for District 12. "We did have some recruiting events in each of the counties that were very successful, and we appreciate everybody coming out, but the positions are still open. We are looking for operators and garage staff and clerical staff in all four counties."

For links to PennDOT's hiring page, click here.