Built Around Faster Service for Dickson County
Just west of Nashville, Dickson County is a growing community of roughly 55,000 residents. With easy access to I-40, a steady flow of commuters, and destinations like Montgomery Bell State Park and The Wonders Center, the county sees consistent traffic tied to both daily routines and tourism.
For the Dickson County Highway Department, that means maintaining roads that serve more than just local travel. The team is responsible for paving, grading, ditching, tar and sealing, and handling winter operations like salting and snow removal. Whether it’s getting residents to work or keeping access open to parks, events, and local businesses, road conditions matter.
This becomes even more important in the winter. Middle Tennessee weather can be unpredictable, with ice events and temperature swings that make timing critical. And for years, salt storage was one of the things slowing that response down.
A setup that cost more time and more resources
Before moving to a new facility, the department was working with limited storage capacity and a setup that wasn’t built for the volume they needed to handle. They originally stored salt in a smaller concrete structure that added extra steps to the process.
“You had to back your trucks in and then use equipment to push the material where you needed it,” said Brian Armstrong, Assistant Road Superintendent. “It just wasn’t very efficient.”
Brian was closely involved in evaluating and selecting the new storage solution, given his hands-on role in day-to-day operations. His perspective made the inefficiencies of their original setup hard to ignore. Not to mention, there were also issues with exposure.
“With one end open, we’d get rainwater in there,” Brian said. “That affected our material.”
It worked, but it was inefficient and an unnecessary use of time and taxpayer dollars. Crews often worked around the setup instead of with it. As the county grew and expectations around road service increased, it became harder to justify sticking with the same approach.
“We knew we needed to have proper salt storage in order to better serve our community when we moved to our new facility,” said Jackie Hodges, Chief Administrative Officer for the Highway Department.
Jackie has been with the department since 2007 and has seen how expectations around road maintenance have evolved over time. With more people relying on consistent access across the county, the need for a more reliable storage solution became clear.
Key Takeaways:
- Dickson County’s previous salt storage setup required extra equipment steps and manual repositioning, making the loading process slow and labor-intensive.
- An open-ended structure left the salt exposed to rainwater, compromising material quality before it ever hit the road.
- As the country grew, an inefficient storage setup became harder to justify—both operationally and for taxpayers.
- Leadership recognized that proper salt storage was essential to reliably serving their community.
Simplifying the process from purchase to operations
Dickson County wanted to keep a simple approach when it came time to invest in a new structure. They needed something that would work with their operations, not against them, and be easy to move forward with, and worked with Christopher Brown of Ridgeside Agriculture Services to find a solution.
“One of the reasons we decided to go with Accu-Steel was because going through Sourcewell made it a lot more straightforward,” Brian said. “We could skip the pain of a full bid process.” The department ultimately selected a 40’ x 64’ Accu-Steel HP Advantage building, designed to handle bulk material storage while standing up to demanding environments.
Once the building was in place, the impact was immediate. Crews can now bring a full dump truck inside and raise the bed to unload instead of backing in and moving material with additional equipment. The enclosed structure also helps protect material from the elements by reducing moisture exposure and helping maintain consistent quality.
Key Takeaways:
- Dickson County used Sourcewell to streamline procurement, bypassing the full bid process and simplifying the path to purchase.
- With the new facility, crews can drive a full dump truck inside and raise the bed to unload—eliminating the extra steps from their old setup.
Keeping crews moving during winter
The new building streamlined day-to-day operations and improved turnaround times during winter events. It also eliminated the need to reposition material, which previously slowed down loading during peak demand.
“It’s made it easier and quicker for us to get trucks loaded and back out on the road,” Jackie said. “That’s what really matters for our team.”
During a recent winter event, having more efficient access to material helped crews stay focused on the road instead of the logistics of loading. Less handling and fewer delays means crews spend more time treating roads. Over the course of a storm, that difference adds up.
The new setup has also shifted how the department is thinking about coverage at a larger scale.
“This Accu-Steel building has had such a positive impact on our county, that we’d ideally like to have two: one on the north end of our county and another on the south end,” Brian said. “That way our team doesn’t have to drive all the way back just to reload.”
With a second building on the horizon, the department is looking to further reduce travel time and improve response across the county.
Key Takeaways:
- The new Accu-Steel Advantage salt storage building eliminated the need to reposition the material during load, reducing delays when demand is highest.
- Faster truck turnaround means crews spend more time treating roads and less time managing logistics.
- Dickson County is now exploring a second Accu-Steel building. The two-building strategy (one at each end of the county) would reduce travel time for crews and allow faster reloading.
Built to support the work behind the scenes
At the end of the day, this investment comes down to making the work more manageable for the crew and more consistent when conditions get tough.
“With better salt storage, we can get out quicker and stay out longer during winter storms,” Jackie said. “It allows us to better serve the community with the right infrastructure in place.”
It means shorter turnaround times and more consistent road treatment as conditions change. For Dickson County, it’s a practical improvement that supports both the crew doing the work and the people who rely on it every day.