GPS technology helps county salt crews

OSHKOSH - For Winnebago County, the art of plowing snow and applying salt hasn't changed.

“As soon as it starts snowing on the freeway system, we get out there,” said Bill Demler, a superintendent for the Winnebago County Highway Department.

But the way the county monitors its crews and its approximately 1,864 miles of road has evolved.

Before winter, Winnebago County installed GPS technology to help battle winter storms.

“Ultimately it will make us more efficient,” said Ernie Winters, the highway commissioner for Winnebago County.

Highway leaders can now locate where their trucks are in the county, how much salt the drivers are applying and what kind of salt they are using. The new technology also shares the air and road temperature from the truck's location.

“It makes us smarter, it makes us a lot more efficient and it saves money in the long run,” said Winters.

County leaders aren't sure how much money will be saved yet using the GPS technology.

A study from the UW-Madison Traffic Operations and Safety Lab projects it could reduce overall salt use by up to nine percent.

Winnebago's highway department leaders say the new software will be a useful tool to analyze their use of salt. However, they say the most important parts of their operation remain the drivers on the road.

“You can't sit in here and try to run a snowstorm from a computer, you have to rely on that driver outside,” said Demler.

The Department of Transportation says two-thirds of Wisconsin's county highway departments are installing the new system.