CARMEL — Carmel street crews are using new technology to clear snow-covered roads faster than ever, helping the city maintain its reputation for keeping schools open even during winter storms.
Matt Higginbotham, Carmel's street commissioner, said crews typically deploy at least two hours before a storm begins. After overnight snowfall blanketed the area, Carmel crews hit the roads early Tuesday morning to clear them completely within hours.
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"I've been here for almost 22 years, and that diligent work response and effort has always been ingrained in the very essence of who we are," Higginbotham said.
The city's commitment to road maintenance has made two-hour school delays rare and snow days even rarer for Carmel Clay Schools. Roads often appear completely clear just hours after snow begins falling, regardless of accumulation amounts.
New tracking 'Geotab' technology is helping the department work more efficiently than ever.
Fleet Supervisor Jason Armes monitors every truck's movement from a central command center using live mapping software.
"It's our live map of our routing of our snow routes. So all of those circles you see there, if it's got a triangle in it, that's a truck that's moving, that's plowing or salting a road. The ones with the squares in them are stopped for some reason," Armes said.
The technology allows crews to prioritize main and secondary roads more effectively.
"All of our employees have access on their iPad to this to where they can see exactly what roads have been hit, where they need to go," Armes said.
The efficiency improvements are measurable. Higginbotham says the department has improved productivity significantly.
"As far as man-hours, we've probably improved by 25%. I would guess on mains and secondaries," Higginbotham explained.
The technology also helps optimize salt usage, allowing supervisors to monitor application rates without physically inspecting routes.
"Is that enough salt? Is it too much salt? So with us being able to have this right here at our fingertips at a computer screen saves us from going out," Armes said.
After each storm, the department conducts reviews to identify potential improvements for future events.
"We sit down, try to figure out, we basically have an after-action review to see if there were any improvements that could be made," Higginbotham said.
"Our goal is always to be ahead of everybody else so that we minimize those delays and closings as much as possible," Higginbotham added.
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Griffin Gonzalez is the In Your Community multimedia journalist for Hamilton County. He joined WRTV in January of 2024. Griffin loves to tell stories about people overcoming their biggest obstacles and share the good news that his community has to offer. Share your story ideas and important issues with Griffin by emailing him at griffin.gonzalez@wrtv.com.
