El Paso County might go high-tech to make snow removal faster and cheaper.

Faced with declining revenues, the county wants to make sure its snowplows go where and when they’re needed.

According to a Transportation Department memo, technology could save staff time and fuel.

For example, cameras could be installed at the county’s seven maintenance yards to monitor weather conditions, saving staff the drive to check conditions in the middle of the night.

Or, the county could install a system to track vehicles’ locations to improve dispatch times to critical areas. In addition, the county might embed sensors in pavement to relay road conditions so snowplows could be sent where they’re most needed.

The technologies could cost roughly $100,000 but save money in the long run, said public services director Tim Wolken.

He said the county spends from $1.2 million to $2 million annually on snow removal.

“By targeting our efforts with better technology, we hope to realize a savings of roughly 5 to 10 percent” in staff time and fuel costs, he said in an e-mail.

The savings will be greater if the county adopts “minor reductions” in service, he said. Wolken hasn’t said what those service cuts would be, but last month he told commissioners he’s researching snow-removal guidelines, such as deploying snowplows only after a certain number of inches of snow falls.

The department will present the snow-removal plan, including service-level changes, to the county’s Highway Advisory Commission and county commissioners within the next month.

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Contact the writer: 636-0238 or pam.zubeck@gazettedev.gazette.com 

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