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truck-a-palooza
Heavy lifters
– week 2 –
WELCOME TO WEEK 2!
Welcome to Week 2 of Truck-a-Palooza, an up-close look at the vehicles used by the City’s Department of Environmental Quality and Public Works.
These trucks are used to move things – whether it’s tree limbs, salt, bulky items…or people!
Two of these three trucks are an essential part of caring for Lexington’s urban forest, including Lexington’s more than 53,000 street trees. Some of the more common species are maple, oak, pear, ash and sycamore.
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Truck-a-Palooza is presented by Lexington Environmental Quality and Public Works
Take a 360 virtual tour around the trucks by clicking and dragging anywhere on the image. Click on a hotspot to see a close-up picture or an action video.
Explore
Knuckle-
boom
- Many different divisions use the knuckleboom. The tree crews in Environmental Services use them when trimming trees and landscaping. The Division of Streets and Roads uses them to clean up large tree debris after big storms, and Waste Management uses a knuckleboom to pick up bulky trash items.
Explore the inside for the truck from the viewpoint of a driver. Click squares for more information.
You're the driver
Truck fact:
A knuckleboom crane is called a “knuckleboom” because the joint in the middle of the boom bends like the knuckle of a finger.
Behind the Wheel:
Blake Pell
Blake has worked with the Environmental Services division for three and a half years. He started on the mowing crew and then moved to working with the tree crew on Reforest the Bluegrass sites a year and half ago.
Blake did not have much experience working with trees before he started. He has loved learning all about trees, tree care and tree climbing. Blake says one of the challenging parts of his job is keeping an eye out for hazards and staying safe. When he’s not working, Blake enjoys camping, biking, hanging out with his dogs and raising ducks.
THE BUCKET TRUCK
Take a 360 virtual tour around the trucks by clicking and dragging anywhere on the image. Click on a hotspot to see a close-up picture or an action video.
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BUCKET TRUCK
- Bucket trucks lift workers up into the air to reach high places.
- Tree crews use bucket trucks to prune large trees and remove hazardous limbs. Traffic Engineering crews use them to maintain traffic signals and signs and to install and repair fiber optic cable.
Explore the inside for the truck from the viewpoint of a driver. Click squares for more information.
You're the driver
Truck fact:
The bucket truck, also called a cherry picker, extends a bucket 75 feet up into the air – the length of a semi-truck!
Behind the Wheel:
NATHAN SKINNER
Though Nathan has worked with the city in the Environmental Services division for three years, he’s been working with trees his whole life. He started planting and growing trees as a child. After college, Nathan worked on a trail crew doing tree removal and fire mitigation in California
Nathan uses the bucket truck regularly, but he prefers using climbing gear to climb in trees. He enjoys his job because it allows him to work outside in the woods and explore the city. Outside of work, Nathan raises honeybees, tends a garden and spends time outdoors.
THE LOADER
Take a 360 virtual tour around the trucks by clicking and dragging anywhere on the image. Click on a hotspot to see a close-up picture or an action video.
Explore
LOADER
- A loader is a type of tractor that uses a bucket attachment to move materials from one place to another. The Division of Streets and Roads uses loaders to move around loose materials like gravel and dirt, or to load salt into the back of a snow plow. The Division of Waste Management uses a loader at the Recycling Center to scoop recyclables off the floor and onto a conveyor belt.
Explore the inside of the truck from the viewpoint of a driver. Click squares for more information.
You're the driver
Truck fact:
The Recycling Center’s loader has huge, heavy tires made of solid rubber to keep the tires from popping if they drive over something sharp.
Behind the Wheel:
HOLLAND BUCK
Holland has worked in the Division of Streets and Roads for 18 years. Holland works on both the snow removal crew and the manhole crew. Before he worked with the city, Holland worked for the state of Kentucky in the Transportation Department.
Holland is an outside person and loves being able to see different scenery every day through his work. Holland said he doesn’t have much free time these days, but when he does he likes to go hunting and fishing.
