The city street department is well-prepared for this season’s snow removal, the city engineer said.

Friday, December 24, 1999

The city street department is well-prepared for this season’s snow removal, the city engineer said.

According to city engineer Dave Olson, the city has stockpiled more than 1,200 tons of sand and salt mixture at the city garage. Traditionally, the city uses between 1,500 to 1,800 tons of the mixture every winter.

&uot;We have plenty for now, and what we may need at the end of the season isn’t very much,&uot; Olson said.

The city also has about 150 tons of pure salt on hand, Olson said.

The city is divided into nine districts for snow removal, each with its own snow removal crew. There are six snow plows, two motor graders and three loaders, one of which has a snow blower attached, and one blower with a front-end loader attached, Olson said.

&uot;We have plenty of vehicles and drivers to do the work,&uot; he said.

The job of snow removal is generally a two-day, eight-hour-a-day task, said Olson.

&uot;The first day the crews work on the primary roads, highways and state aid roads. They remove the snow from the curbs and pile it in rows along the center line,&uot; Olson said.

&uot;That takes about eight to 10 hours. Then the crews return at about 1 a.m. and remove the snow with loaders and haul it away to be dumped.&uot;

The city has more than 100 miles of streets to be plowed – and approximately 120 alleys, which are time consuming, Olson said.

&uot;Some of those alleys are very narrow, making it difficult for the crews to use the heavier equipment,&uot; he said.

The warmer weather earlier this season has been a help to the street crews, Olson said. Before the recent snow fall, crews have had more time to concentrate on street maintenance.