Meteorologists are waffling on exactly how much snow Wilton will see and when exactly we’ll see it when an expected Nor’easter hits this weekend. But whenever and whatever happens, Wilton will be ready.
That’s the message from Tom Thurkettle, director of Wilton’s Department of Public Works.
“We’re all set. We have been for the last couple of days. We’ve got sand and salt, we’ve got trucks ready to go. We’re just waiting for the event to start,” he tells GOOD Morning Wilton.
Weather forecasts have backtracked over the last day or two, and total snow accumulation is not likely going to be as high as was first predicted earlier in the week, when estimates called for 1-2 feet. But as of Thursday evening, NBC Connecticut weather forecasts were saying southern CT and Fairfield County will likely see only 3-to-6 inches, as the storm tracks south and hits Washington, DC, Philadelphia, New York and Long Island much harder.
If the snow does zig zag back north, though and dump more snow on Wilton, Thurkettle says his department will be prepared.
DPW has 14 large trucks and 18 people available and on call. “We come in when the police patrol will let us know as soon as it gets treacherous. We have about half a dozen people who live very close and can immediately respond.”
His crew will stay until the storm is over, and then some. “We’re here beginning to end, usually about four hours after it stops.”
With 127 miles of Wilton roads—not including any of the state roads—DPW has its work cut out for it during a storm. They don’t do much pretreating of the roads the way the state does, laying down calcium chloride before a storm. “They’ll probably treat Rt. 7 on Friday,” Thurkettle expects.
As for Wilton’s supply of sand and salt, there’s not much of it that’s been touched this year, given how little snowfall we’ve had to date. That certainly helps with supply and the department’s budget, says Thurkettle, but experience shows you never know how a season will go.
“We’re under budget so far, but like Yogi Berra said, ‘It’s not over ’til it’s over,’ at least until the middle of March. There could be a lot of snow between now and then,” he adds.
The other thing Thurkettle says is important is for drivers to be careful and stay home if the roads become too slick. “‘Caution’ is the word of the day. Just be careful, even if you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle. Be careful,” he warns.
The DPW does put out a pile of sand with a bit of salt mixed in for residents to use, free of charge. The pile is outside the Annex building at Town Hall, and they ask residents to limit what they take to one 5-gal. pail per resident.
As for stocking up with other necessities, Wilton Hardware is ready for anything to help residents be ready for anything too.
The store’s owner Tom Sato confirms that they are stocked with everything you’d need to prepare for the storm, if and when it arrives. ‘We’ve got ice melt, shovels, roof rakes, even sleds. Everything except bread and milk,’ Sato tells GMW.”
