Who'll clean up road kill?

WOOSTOCK – Paul Chamberlain sees auto-body repairs where most people see road kill. Raccoons, for example, might bend bumpers or break fog lights. And dents from deer can deliver real dough.

“Deer damage is a big part of our business,” said Chamberlain, who owns Dwight’s Auto Body in Woodstock. “It runs in cycles.”

But as fuel costs continue to increase, road cleanup crews cannot afford to run in circles. Budget constraints could mean more road kill left on state highways this summer, while McHenry County transportation officials have made changes to keep cleanup costs down.

“It’s a challenge to any agency,” said Mark DeVries, the maintenance superintendent for the McHenry County Division of Transportation. “How can we do more with less, and is it more efficient?”

County road crews now share duties to clean up storm damage, check for sign problems, clean up carcasses, and perform other tasks, DeVries said.

Some workers share a truck for two jobs in close proximity, and the department tries to limit how much its vehicles’ engines idle.

Crews sweep county roads most Mondays for road kill, he said. Drivers can help, too, by calling in road-kill reports to help save crews time and mileage. The transportation department hopes to launch a Web site for drivers to report anything from road kill to potholes, DeVries said.

“We’re conscious of how much driving we are doing,” said Loren Schmitt, a road supervisor with the county’s transportation department. “In an emergency situation, like a dead deer that is on the highway, we’ll take care of that right away. If it’s just a raccoon that’s off to the side of the road or a dead rabbit, something like that, those will have to wait until we make our rounds.”

Roads near conservation areas tend to have the most road kill, county signs supervisor Andy Schwebke said. Some of the more common sites include Deerpass Road near Marengo, River Road near Moraine Hills State Park, and roads that run through other heavily wooded areas.

The busiest time of year for cleanup crews typically is during the fall deer mating season, officials said. But an urgency also exists to clear roads during summer months, when hot weather brings out the worst stenches.