Town Talk: Exeter
One Man’s Trash Is Another Man’s Tailgate Bar
(Photo provided)
By JOSHUA YOUNGQUIST
EXETER
The Town of Exeter Highway Department earned statewide recognition this year for an innovation that’s as straightforward as it is important—a custom‑built tailgate bar designed to keep workers safe during winter maintenance. Highway Superintendent Steven Baker submitted the project to New York State’s Build a Better Mousetrap Competition, where it received an honorable mention. The tool itself may be simple, but the story behind it reflects the kind of practical problem‑solving that keeps small towns running.
Baker said the idea came after a moment that could have ended very differently.
“We identified a dangerous situation where workers were operating under a dump truck tailgate held up only by a piece of wood,” he explained. “The tailgate was bumped, the wood fell out and the tailgate slammed shut. No one was injured, but a safer solution was needed.”
The department’s garage has a low ceiling, which prevents crews from raising the dump box high enough for gravity to hold the tailgate open. That’s a challenge during winter, when the bed chain—the mechanism that moves sand forward while treating snowy roads—needs frequent attention. Baker said the team knew they had to rethink their approach.
“Our building just doesn’t give us the height we need,” he said. “So we had to come up with something that would let the guys work safely under the tailgate.”
Rather than purchasing new equipment, Baker looked to the scrap bins.
“Whenever a safety issue is identified, we work as a team to first see if we have a solution we can build or implement in-house before looking to spend money from an already tight budget,” he explained.
What they built was a sturdy metal bar made entirely from leftover materials: a heavy pipe that fits over the tailgate pin, paired with a used plow bolt that locks into the tailgate latches. Baker welded the pieces together in the town shop and painted the bar with leftover plow paint.
“The cost was basically zero,” he said.
Highway employees Ken Michel, T.J. Wellman, and Nate DiPietro helped test and refine the design. Their input led to one key improvement: adding a bungee cord to keep the bar from shifting.
“They can now work under the tailgate with confidence they won’t be hurt,” Baker said. “It was a simple solution to a dangerous situation.”
The tailgate bar has already improved daily workflow, allowing crews to service equipment without improvising supports or worrying about unexpected movement. Baker submitted the project to the statewide competition at the Highway School held at Ithaca College, hoping other towns might benefit.
“I wanted to share the idea with other municipalities that may face a similar problem,” he said.
In Exeter, the innovation stands as a reminder that safety doesn’t always come from a catalog—sometimes it comes from a scrap bin, a welder and a crew committed to protecting one another.
The New York State Local Technical Assistance Program is hosted by the Cornell Local Roads Program.
The NYSLTAP–CLRP Build a Better Mousetrap Competition is an annual statewide contest that celebrates inventive, cost-effective solutions created by New York’s highway and public works professionals to solve every day operational challenges. Entries are evaluated based on cost savings, ease of implementation, transferability to other agencies, and the significance of the problem solved. State winners advance to a national competition.
The New York State Local Technical Assistance Program and Cornell Local Roads Program provide technical assistance and training to highway and public works agencies throughout New York State.
