By Scott Taylor,Staff Writer

LEWISTON – Last winter was just about average, if you judge by the tire chains.

The City of Lewiston went through 101 pairs of tire chains in the process of clearing city streets.

Highway worker Bob Pelletier keeps track of such things in a black and white notebook, which he keeps in a drawer at the Lewiston Public Works garage. It’s in the same room where he assembles all of the city’s tire chains for all of its vehicles – from sidewalk plows on up.

“I do mostly the public works fleet, the plows and sanders, but I make them for the police cars, if they need them,” he said. “I make them for the fire department, too, if they ask.”

It’s not the only job he has with the city. He works in the shop year round, repairing vehicles and operating heavy equipment. He spends his winter working in the chain room, especially during heavy storms. That’s when he makes quick repairs to broken chains, working in time with the city’s first snowplow shift. Then, when the first shift ends, he assumes a spot in a plow as a member of the second shift street-clearing unit.

Pelletier is the only one in Lewiston who builds chains, and it’s been his distinction for the past 12 years.

“It’s good. You get into a rhythm,” he said. “It’s kind of relaxing, in its own way.”

He gets as far ahead as he can, building at least two tire chains for each vehicle tire. But nothing can prepare him for the rush during a storm. Ruined and broken chains would litter the floor around his work space during a storm, until he had a series of hooks installed next to the door.

It’s no less frantic. Crews depend on having the chains ready to go.

“The road really tears up these chains,” Pelletier said. “Some of the guys have routes with a lot of hills and they can’t get anywhere without them.”

If he’s not building chains or plowing during a storm, he’s helping out in the shop. There’s plenty of work to go around: the trucks need maintenance and fuel. Plow trucks alone can go through an entire plow blade for every storm. Crews have to swap those out just about as often as they need to change tire chains – and swapping blades is a longer, more involved job.

“When it gets too hectic out there, though, it’s good to have this,” he said. “You can just come in here and work.”