Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SUNDAY, December 19, 1993                   TAG: 9312190023
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C5   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: RICHMOND                                LENGTH: Medium

SNOWPLOWS PREPARED FOR WORST

But steamy temperatures and scorching pavement weren't enough to keep employees at the Virginia Department of Transportation from jumping on their snowplows and making a few practice runs along the state's secondary roads and highways.

The department "began preparing for winter's return months ago," said Tom Hawthorne, Richmond district maintenance engineer.

Snowplow operators made "dry runs" throughout the state during the summer and early fall to familiarize themselves with the areas they may be clearing this winter.

"I guess we're always considering the possibility of a white Christmas," said Andy Farmer, a department spokesman. "We're always prepared for it."

The department has nearly 2,000 trucks equipped with snowplows, as well as 283,000 tons of salt and 177,000 tons of sand stockpiled for this year's snow season.

Farmer said crews are ready for anything from a few flakes to a major winter blast like the March storm that dropped as much as 30 inches of snow on some areas of the state.

This year, the agency has budgeted $40.6 million for snow removal. Last year, the state spent $42.5 million, with more than $16 million going toward the March storm.

"The snows that we had last year were the first significant snowfalls we had really had since '89," Farmer said.

While the state has more than 4,500 employees on hand to tackle Virginia's roads in case of snowfall, the agency still is asking that residents use caution when traveling on treacherous roadways this winter.

"When it's snowing and you don't have to go out, please stay home," Farmer said.