‘This is a big operation’: Lancaster County sees snowplow deficit ahead of winter season

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) — The Lancaster County Engineering Department is doing all it can to prepare for snow, primarily by making sure its snowplows are ready to go.

The 23 snowplows and 20 pickup trucks the county owns cover nearly 1,400 miles of county roads.

As these machines age, the county is encountering delays in replacing them, in addition to having fewer workers.

“People don’t realize that Lancaster County has more lane miles than the entire city of Lincoln, so this is a big operation,” said Lancaster County Engineer Pam Dingman.

With the anticipated winter snow in mind, it can seem even bigger.

Videos submitted to Channel 8 by Nebraskans of past snowstorms show the long stretches of road that need regular clearing.

The county reports spending around $150,000 per year to maintain the equipment used to clean those roads; however, they are now facing a problem beyond their control.

“The challenge for us has been we haven’t been able to get a dump truck or large snowplow delivered in about two and a half years due to supply chain issues,” said Dingman.

She says the problems lie in both the production of truck parts and the assembly process.

“I’ve had to stop buying trucks in county engineering,” said Dingman. “We currently have $2 million worth of trucks, that’s seven trucks [on back order], but I also don’t want them to all come in at once, and then all wear out at once.”

She says the ideal life cycle of a snowplow is 10 years; after that, they decline rapidly, and repairs are costly.

The older trucks in the county’s possession are being readied for what’s to come.

Still, they lack newer features like increased lighting and an easier-to-use operating system, unlike the handful of levers in older models that put stress on the driver.

Dingman said that her team is doing their best to be ready to go by the end of October.