OLATHE, Kan. — Perhaps one of the most important steps to take after inclement weather is making sure the roads get cleared as quickly and safely as possible.
The Kansas Department of Transportation has been preparing since September, restocking necessary materials like salt and sand; workers have been busy conducting maintenance on the snow plow vehicles as well.
The preparation work is all ready to go, but what they are really worried about is the manpower.
“If I could get 10 seasonal employees, that would help us tremendously,” said Drake Jennings, KDOT's area superintendent.
During his 37 years with KDOT, Jennings says the staffing shortage has never been this dire.
Even with advanced plowing equipment that tackles multiple lanes, what would normally take them a couple of days might take them four days instead.
Jennings is having to borrow workers from other areas that he oversees — Overland Park, Gardner, Shawnee and KCK.
When he is down 25 employees, it unfortunately means overtime, on-calls and burnouts.
“People think well you’re sitting in a truck driving, but it’s very tedious work and it’s very scary. It can be very scary,” Jennings said. “It’s a very stressful, thankful-less job.”
This is why the agency is hiring with incentives: paid training and help getting Commercial Driver’s License. It is all in an effort to help make Kansas residents’ commutes safe.
“The state highway system is really critical to move people and goods everywhere, whether you’re going school or whether you’re going to work, whether you need to go to the grocery store,” said Delaney Tholen with KDOT.
Even with interested applicants, the process to get them ready takes three to five months. Jennings says they may be far too into the cold seasons already, but it is always better late than never.
“Give us a chance if you like variety. This is the job to have because you’re not gonna do the same thing everyday,” Jennings said.
KSHB 41 also reached out to the Missouri Department of Transportation where they are seeing a similar problem.
They hired about a hundred new employees this summer, but they are still several hundred employees below what they need, should a statewide storm last longer than one shift.
Persons interested in working at KDOT can apply here.
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