"Beltline Bob" could be called "Bobblehead Bob" for all the
times he’s looking for trouble on Madison’s freeway.
"You need your head on a swivel," says Deputy Eric Novotny, the
principal driver of the county’s freeway service truck that
provides emergency service on the 16-mile-long Beltline. The
Freeway Service Team of the Dane County Sheriff’s Office celebrated
its ninth anniversary in December.
Originally set up by the Wisconsin Department of Transportation
as the Motor Service Patrol, the Dane County service truck is one
of two in the state — Milwaukee has the other one — giving aid to
motorists who run out of gas, have flat tires or need a
jump-start.
Novotny is the original Beltline Bob, but there are 16 deputies
in all who are trained to work the freeway service truck.
The freeway service truck runs from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday
through Friday, going back and forth on the Beltline that stretches
from the interchange with Interstate 39/90 on the far east side of
Madison to the end of the Beltline in Middleton on the far west
side.
In nine years, the service team has logged 577,211 miles on the
Beltline, handling about 53,000 calls, or 23.5 calls per shift.
Those emergencies include 6,900 crashes, 2,200 empty gas tanks,
790 jump-starts, 3,850 tow truck calls, 4,800 abandoned vehicles
and 2,900 minor repairs.
All of the services are provided free of charge to the
motorist.
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