Cleaning up after Mother Nature

Holidays, nights, weekends — Mother Nature does not always choose to bring winter weather at convenient times. So crews often have to work overtime and at varying schedules depending on what is required to maintain public safety and the continuation of traffic movement.

A near-record snowfall total for November of 29 inches, including a Thanksgiving storm, have kept road crews busy. And with the National Weather Service predicting a snowier-than-average winter all around, the plows likely won’t get much rest.

City

Steve Johnson, International Falls street commissioner, said the city’s eight units take to the streets after storms. Johnson said the city’s crews move to a snow operation status once the powder starts flying. Storms, such at that experienced over Thanksgiving, require overtime expense, taking an extra chunk out of the winter cleanup budget, he said.

The city budgets for more than the average 60-inch winter snowfall. For a 6-inch snowfall, Johnson averages the cost to the city at $1,500, not including overtime pay or fuel costs.

When the area receives multiple back-to-back snowfalls such as those seen in November, Johnson said at times they rely on rental units to remove snow while the city crews are plowing the streets from the fresh snowstorm. The city maintains city streets as well as trunk highways and county roads within city limits, for which it contracts with the appropriate agencies.

The city does not have a bare pavement policy, Johnson reminds drivers. This means that drivers should slow down when driving on what may be slippery surfaces. While many intersections will be treated, road conditions will vary. “We typically have snow on the roads through the winter,” Johnson said.

Highways and main thoroughfares will get the quickest and most complete attention, while residential streets may be plowed later.

County

Koochiching county personnel are responsible for clearing 550 miles of roadways each time a winter storm hits.

“It’s been above normal, but we’re able to keep up with it,” said Walt Buller, county highway maintenance supervisor.

The county has five plows in International Falls, one in Birchdale, two in Loman, two in Littlefork, two in Big Falls, one in Silverdale and contracts the work in Northome. Buller said it takes the crews less than 10 hours after a storm to clear the roads. Each driver has a route, he explained, and handles all the roadways in that area, so a plow is not doing much backtracking.

The county uses about 2,300 tons of salt and 1,500 yards of sand per year. Buller explained that the county is currently using more sand to increase traction on icy roads following an early-week storm. Because the temperatures dived into the teens and below following that ice, salt does not have the same effect of breaking through the ice, he said.

Five areas, he said, get the most attention: stop signs, intersections, bridges, hills and curves in the road. Straightaways are treated as needed. “We try to take care of them the best we can,” he said.

Buller did not have figures for the costs of snow plowing.

State

The Minnesota Department of Transportation’s northeast district (District 1) cares for more than 1,600 miles of state highways and 600 bridges in the Arrowhead Region.

John Bray, special assistant to the district engineer at MnDOT northeast district, said that this year’s storms have been “a cakewalk” for the road crews responsible for clearing the region’s highways.

“This is nothing for our people to handle,” he said. “Our people are so well trained, they can handle anything winter throws at us, no matter what it is.”

Winter highway maintenance services for MnDOT District 1 average approximately $5 million per winter. These costs are paid for from an operating budget of $35 million. Bray said that in a particularly harsh winter, MnDOT would never suspend winter road clearing, but may instead cut back on preventative road maintenance projects such as pothole filling and road crack sealing the following summer.

Winter weather cleanup is a 24-hour, seven-day-a-week responsibility, Bray explained, noting the MnDOT crews would work whatever hours are necessary because the work is so vital to the communities it serves.

“(Travel) affects everything, how we live up here,” he said.

There are 19 truck stations in the region, including in International Falls and Littlefork. These stations deploy road crews as necessary, due to conditions in specific areas. District 1 has 386 full-time equivalent employees, of which 225 are trained snowplow operators.

During the 2009-2010 winter, the district used 19,905 tons of road salt, 8,481 tons of sand, 72,438 gallons of liquid magnesium chloride and 168,868 gallons of salt brine.

Advice for drivers

In addition to general road safety tips and following all posted traffic regulations, road maintenance officials shared some tips to help maintain safety and increase the effectiveness of road crew efforts.

Buller reminds drivers to stay back from plows, which have limited visibility.

Johnson reminds city residents to observe calendar parking regulations. Not adhering to the calendar parking, especially in the winter, can lead to problems with plows moving snow on streets with cars parked on both sides.

Bray said drivers have a responsibility to remain vigilant, which becomes even more important during the winter. He advises not eating, texting and other distracting pastimes, and not using a vehicle’s cruise control. He recommends maintaining speeds consistent with the weather conditions.

For highway road condition and weather information, log onto www.511mn.org or call 511.