A winter weather warning goes into effect early Wednesday morning. Drivers will need to use caution. The Kent County Road Commission will be very busy, but, seven percent of its workforce is out due to COVID issues just in time for the storm.
West Michigan is prepping for a winter storm. A warning goes into effect early Wednesday morning. Kent County Road Commission officials say they’re ready for the task at hand, despite having several workers impacted by COVID. Here’s Jerry Byrne, Director of Operations, Kent County Road Commission.
“Covid impacts us a number of ways, with those out, close contact, those with. Right now, we have 7 % of workforce impacted in some fashion. Some close contact can come to work if we need if symptom free. So, we’re in pretty good shape with that.”
Byrne says they follow the safety protocols of sanitizing and keeping workers separated. Vaccines are not mandatory but are highly encouraged. He adds they’re waiting for more direction from the Federal Government and may have mandatory testing come February. In the meantime, he says they’ve been ready since November and have back up plans in place.
“We have contingency plans of supervisors that can drive trucks, we can shift between garages buildings and we have a mutual aid pact, so we can pull and give between a wide range of jurisdictions and municipalities.”
As for the storm, Byrne advises drivers have patience, be prepared, put the phone down and if you don’t have to travel, stay home.