"The salt stores at the three road maintenance depots in Ludwigsburg, Vaihingen an der Enz and Besigheim as well as at the base in Korntal-Münchingen were already replenished in the summer and fall," says Ronald Stolz, Head of the Roads Department at the Ludwigsburg District Office. A total of around 4,000 tons of road salt are currently stored there, which is more than enough for an average winter in which the road maintenance depots need around 3,000 tons, Stolz continues.
In all weathers: around 60 road maintenance employees on duty
The road maintenance fleet is also ready for action: In October, the vehicles were equipped with the necessary attachments such as snow plows and gritters and checked for operational readiness. In addition, the deployment plans were drawn up and the shift assignments and briefings for the 60 or so employees assigned to the winter service were completed. They will be deployed on around 700 kilometers of federal, state and district roads in the district.
A total of twelve of the company's own vehicles - four per road maintenance depot - and eight additional vehicles from contractors are available for the winter service. In order to prevent possible staff absences during the cold and flu season, the district has planned for replacement staff.
So far, climate change has had no impact on winter services in the district, according to Stolz. "Nevertheless, we are prepared for potential weather extremes and can react quickly thanks to reliable weather forecasts and our own weather stations."
