Chain installers link up plenty of business on Interstate 80

By Bruce Schuknecht, Journal Staff WriterCOLFAX ? It?s cold, wet and sometimes unpleasant work crouching under dripping fender wells along Interstate 80 roadsides, and perhaps it?s even a little hazardous at times.When snowchain installers lie down and reach around a tire to snatch a chain end, they risk a crushed arm if some driver mistimes inching forward as the worker hooks up the chain. Installers must work fast in other ways, too, vying for the next motorist eager to get under way.Only feet separate these contractors, who concentrate on their task, from the autos idling along for a gap in the line of cars and trucks pulling in and out on the freeway shoulder. The frenetic scene of jostling workers and drivers resembles a Daytona speedway pit stop, albeit snowy and slowed down.For many installers, some who campout early for the best spot, it?s the chance for some fast money ? a lot of it ? and just for few hours of hectic work. that depends greatly on snow conditions.Thursday morning, snow levels dropped to Colfax, and California Department of Transportation managers began requiring cars and trucks to use chains before heading up the slope. Farther south at Applegate, big rigs without chains had to wait it out or turn back.Leonardo ?Leo? Duque, 41, a seasonal chain installer from Weimar since 1984, had a pretty good spot in the line and not too far back in the mile-long pack of competition. Outfitted in yellow rain gear and wearing numbered bibs, most of the Caltrans contractors charged $20 to install a set of chains, for just a few minutes work. Most charged $10 to remove them.A day?s profit depends on snowfall and how long Caltrans required chains for trans-Sierra travel.?When it?s a blizzard I make more,? said Duque. ?Last year wasn?t that good, and this year is OK. But the (early) 1990 winters were stormy almost every week.?Duque, who charged the going rate of $20 a chain set, said he started about 9 a.m. and by noon had chained some 15 autos.?Guys at the front can make about $2,000 a day,? he said of contractors at the leading edge of the chain-control zone. ?Guys up there are the top dogs. They make the bucks. Yep, I?ve been up there,? he said pointing to the Canyon Way Bridge.?When we?re making $300, they?re making $900,? he said of contractors who seemed to easily reel in customer after customer. ?Some do $15,000 to $20,000 a snow season.?Caltrans allows contractors, who must be tested and also pay for an encroachment permit and get a business license, set their own chain rates, said Mike Peterson, a Caltrans supervisor for the Donner Pass area. There are 155 permit holders on both sides of the slope, he noted.?Sometimes we make about as much as a lawyer makes,? Duque said. ?I bought three pieces of property in Oregon,? with chain installation money, he went to say, and each of the smallish lots had modest homes ? one piece that cost about $7,000 cash.During warmer months, Duque helps his wife, Mona, sell clothing at flea markets.Duque can throw on a snow chain in less than two minutes, under half the maximum time allowed by a Caltrans tester, he said. Permit applicants must take a 14-question test as well, he noted.Jennifer Oleny stood on the roadside shoulder as Duque installed chains on her shiny white KGO TV news station van. She was grateful for guys like Duque, outfitted in head-to-toe rain gear and rubber gloves, which had a few holes from his labor.?Who wants to get all wet and freeze your fingers,? the news producer asked. She and her crew were eager to get to Sugar Bowl for a news story. Meanwhile, dozens of other motorists waited for a vacant spot in line.One installer who declined to give his name said a good season can bring upwards of $40,000.But elsewhere in line, another installer, who gave only his first name, Pat, scoffed at that claim.?Somebody who makes that much is full of (expletive),? he said, as he directed another customer into place. Installers can lose money when chain controls get suddenly lifted, he noted.Here and there, some motorists struggled to install their own chains, but contractors didn?t seem to mind a missed opportunity now and then.