The tricky job of patching highways in Kansas

Crews at work filling potholes in north central Kansas 

By Ashley Perez
North Central Kansas 
Public Affairs Manager

Highway maintenance supervisors check their routes regularly for potholes and more. So when Kort St. Clair, Supervisor in McPherson, saw potholes on I-135, he sent his crew out as soon as possible. Equipment Operators came from Council Grove with equipment to help other Equipment Operators from McPherson as soon as they received St. Clair’s assignment. But little did they know that in a couple weeks they would be tackling the same potholes again. But why? 

Equipment Operator rakes material over the pothole while another Equipment
Operator walks behind the truck and sprays material on other areas.  

Several methods of patching are used across the state, and unfortunately it is sometimes hard to tell which of those methods will be the best to use. When patching on the warm December day, the crew chose to use a method called spray patching. Spray patching is when a pothole or crack is thoroughly cleaned using equipment to remove any loose debris.

Hot emulsion oil is then sprayed in the hole or crack to allow an aggregate, such as gravel, to bond and fill the voids. 

In early January, the crew was sent back out to fill the same potholes but this time with a different method, using a cold-weather patch. 

This mix is used as a temporary fix in lower temperatures to fill in the pothole. Finding the best method with varying conditions during the winter can be tricky. 

Even with a perfect pothole patch, it is still vulnerable to break open again due to freeze and thaw cycles. The crew will monitor that area to confirm that the cold weather patch holds up until more permanent repairs can be made to the road. 

“Not every pothole repair is the same but our crews will keep working on them to keep highways in good condition,” St. Clair said. “I ask that you please move over and slow down when driving through our work zones so that highway workers can return home safely to their families.” 

Being a ‘snow fighter’ means overcoming obstacles

Craig Kenyon, Equipment Operator Senior with the District Five Bridge Crew, teaches the snow fighters obstacle course.

By Tim Potter and Kelly Kultala

South Central Kansas and Northeast Kansas

Public Affairs Managers

You could tell Craig Kenyon was proud of the obstacle course for snow-plow trucks.

That’s where KDOT snow-and-ice (SNICE) crew operators learned or practiced skills needed to keep Kansas highways open this winter.

It was part of two days of annual “snow fighters” training, which took place in early November at a KDOT south central Kansas facility in Hutchinson and at the Hutchinson Sub Area yard.

It was the second year the obstacle course has been set up. Kenyon was an obstacle course instructor. “I dreamed this course,” said Kenyon, Equipment Operator Senior with the District Bridge Crew.

On a brilliantly sunny, obnoxiously windy, bitter-cold morning, Kenyon explained that the course is designed to help KDOT drivers get the feel of operating a snow plow in all kinds of situations.

A plow truck maneuvers along the obstacle course at the Hutchinson Sub Area yard.

There were many how-to’s: how to line up the plow as it rolls down the road, how to clear a bridge deck without shoving snow onto traffic below, how to lift the plow before crossing railroad tracks, how to retract the wing plow on the passenger side when encountering a broken-down car on a shoulder, how to be prepared if the plow suddenly snags on something.

The obstacle course was outlined with traffic cones, stretching about a half a mile, round trip. Barrels were used at one spot to simulate a stalled car on a shoulder to be avoided. Trainees also encountered a simulated railroad crossing, complete with an RR sign.

“They (the trainees) enjoy the hands-on,” Kenyon said.

He showed how controls in the truck cab operate the front plow, wing plow and other functions. “There’s a lot of things you need to keep focused on,” Kenyon said.

At other spots, crews learned from other teachers how to mix brine in a brine maker used to treat ice and how to plow wet snow using sand as the practice material.

Equipment Operator Steven Dvorak explained how to service a brine maker. “The really complicated part,” he said, “is when you start shutting it down and you winterize it. Once you get the hang of it.”

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Earlier this fall other areas across the state also underwent snow and ice training in order to prepare for more winter weather this season.  In northeast Kansas, about 40 new employees completed their training.

"Training is very important because the people that are attending are new hires with less than one year of experience and have never done snow and ice removal," Said Brian Hoke, Highway Maintenance Supervisor from Overland Park. "The trainers have many years of experience and enjoy meeting all of the new hires and sharing their experience and information.”

In the classroom training the trainees go over proper decision making and plowing procedures. They learn how to put tire chains on and do a walk around a dump truck with spreader and plow on to make sure that everything is working properly. They go over the different types of chemicals and salt brine that are used to melt the snow and learn how to apply them.

In addition, new employees attend the winter safety class where the District Safety Specialist goes over all the safety precautions of extreme weather conditions, what to wear and how to prepare for working long hours. They also go over the truck and attachments with a mechanic and he talks about common break downs and how some of them could be prevented. The mechanic also goes over proper clean up procedures with the equipment after the snow and ice event is over.  You might think that learning how to clean a snowplow would be easy, however, there are a lot of parts and pieces and nooks and crannies that need to be cleaned out.

Because many of the new employees have never used a torch, which is used to cut off bolts that can’t be removed otherwise, there is torch training which includes the basics of how to use a torch safely.

Many of the trainees had the most fun learning how to scoop up sand and rock with a loader and how to drive a snowplow on a course by pushing a bowling ball into a goal, which requires depth perception and hand/eye coordination.

 Here are some photos from similar events across the state: 

Crews in north central Kansas train on the brine applicator process.

Crews in north central Kansas practice plowing earlier this fall. 

Crews check out the different types of equipment
it takes to fight snow and ice in northeast Kansas.

Crews in northwest Kansas practice loading snow fighting contents like
salt or sand into the dump trucks. 

Crews in northwest Kansas practice loading snow fighting contents like
salt or sand into the dump trucks.

Crews in northwest Kansas practice a driving course during their training. 

On the lookout: KDOT workers have each other’s back

Equipment Operator Senior Rocky Lindgren from Salina, flags traffic in an active work zone. 

Whether a KDOT employee has worked on the highway for one day or 40 years, work zone safety is a top priority and a team effort. 

Equipment Operators at KDOT say they are constantly looking over their shoulders watching for traffic and guarding their safety while working on the roads. Terry Shank, Equipment Operator Senior in Salina, explained how crucial it is that they pay attention to traffic and don’t lose focus, or they could get hurt. 

“When you flag, you take turns with other workers to prevent fatigue,” said Rocky Lindgren, Equipment Operator Senior in Salina. “This prevents mental fatigue and loss of focus while on the job.”

Do you ever approach a work zone and wonder why so many trucks are needed? 

The trucks following a spray patch operation drive over the patches to pack in the loose gravel but that’s only one of the reasons they are there — they also help keep workers safe.

“Trucks are there to alert traffic of a work zone and to make sure traffic gets over in time, so workers can remain safe,” said Kort St. Clair, Highway Maintenance Supervisor in McPherson. “If the operators in the trucks notice something of concern they can warn their coworkers ahead of time.”

Crews in north central Kansas fill potholes using the spray patching technique.

“We look out for one another,” said Tim Frederiksen, Equipment Operator in Salina. “We watch to make sure someone doesn’t step too far over into the traffic while working and they do the same for us."

It is imperative that traffic move over to allow workers the room they need while working.  KDOT workers want to go home safe and they want the same for their coworkers.

KDOT employees ask that all drivers put away distractions, slow down and pay attention while driving through work zones. One mistake could cost them their life. That phone call or text can wait. 

KDOT: A Farmer’s Workplace

KDOT employs many farmers across the state. Here are a few who work in north central Kansas.

Ashley Tammen,

Public Affairs Manager, north central Kansas

For several KDOT employees, operating equipment happens both on the job and in the fields. Several of the KDOT employees in north central Kansas have taken up farming as a side job or hobby, or they help a fellow farmer during the busy seasons. Their supervisors said that the hard work that is instilled in them as farmers and their experience operating equipment makes them great employees at KDOT. 

Here are a few stories of KDOT farmers:

Tom Wendell in Beloit has experience not only as an Equipment Operator working for KDOT, but he also raises livestock and runs a farm. Wendell has been with KDOT for 42 years and raises cattle, sheep and goats. He plants and bales his own hay, which he uses to feed them in the evenings after getting home from work.

 “Sometimes I have gotten home at 8:30 p.m., after working a 12-hour shift at KDOT and after going out to the barn to check on the lambs I discover a baby is born so I am out there till 1:30 or 2 a.m. helping take care of the newborn lamb,” said Wendell.

Ed Dohl, Equipment Operator in Lincoln, does a little bit of everything when it comes to farming. He has cattle, sheep, wheat, milo, soybeans, a horse and even a mule. Dohl says a typical day for him starts with chores on the farm and putting wood in the wood stove before heading to work. Dohl says KDOT is a good place for a farmer to work and he likes the early summer hours, so he can get off early and work on the farm.

Rodney Howard, Highway Maintenance Supervisor in Burr Oak, grew up on his family farm and started with KDOT in September 1977 as an Equipment Operator in Mankato. He has continued farming while working for KDOT and now supervises the crew in Mankato. Howard farms about 150 acres of wheat and 150 acres of soybeans on his family farm. 

“KDOT has been very good to me and my family, and I have tried to be helpful in return,” said Howard.

 “I enjoy working for KDOT. There’s great benefits, flexibility to help farm, and it’s nice that we’re not always doing the same thing because jobs change from season to season,” said Lance Wilton, Equipment Operator Specialist in Lincoln.

These are only some of their stories, and many KDOT employees also help with harvest and planting every year. KDOT appreciates these farmers for their hard work and being part of the KDOT team!

A 'pawesome' story: KDOT crews rescue lost cat

Ron O’Neal was the first to hear the meow.

Equipment Operator Seniors Jorge Alvarado, Ryan Hunter and Ron O'Neal, shown left to right, helped get this cat out of a hole they were going to fill with concrete while working on the apron of a bridge at K-96 and Rock Road. They work out of the Wichita East Subarea shop

The Equipment Operator Senior and other members of the Wichita East Subarea crew were working on the apron of a bridge at K-96 and Rock Road, about to fill a hole with concrete. They stopped when O’Neal heard the plea for help.

This grey and white cat was saved by KDOT crews from Wichita.
He was reunited with his family. 

Equipment Operator Senior Ryan Hunter “sprang into action and dug him out of the hole,” Supervisor Ted Coleman said. “The hole was huge and required flowable fill. Ryan reached down about 3 feet to retrieve the kitty cat.” 

Coleman called Wichita Animal Control and took the cat home for the weekend, introducing him to his two dogs. It wasn’t the first time Coleman has gone above and beyond for animals. He once crossed four lanes of I-135 to rescue a dog that had been lost for several days. Coleman was recently featured in the #IAMDKOT series which illustrates that scene here: 

Workers at the Wichita Animal Shelter, which is situated next to the Kansas Humane Society, successfully scanned the cat for a microchip.

Turns out the kitty had been missing for a month and lived 12 miles away in Andover.

“The family was thrilled and excited to hear the good news,” Coleman said.