Wright County Road Superintendent, Nathan McVey, explains the process for removing snow from the county’s granular routes after a snow event
Day one (After the initial snow event)- Our goal for Day 1 is to get roadways open to traffic. This is accomplished by making a two way pass where necessary on all granular routes. Mold boards, V Plows and wings are used to get as much snow as possible off the roadway, so roads are at least passable. This process typically takes 10-12 hours for each operator. Each motor grader operator has between 70 and 75 miles they are responsible for. Making two passes (down and back), makes that 150 miles and if we are lucky enough to average 15 mph, manage to not get stuck or breakdown, we reach our 10 hours fairly easily on a smooth day. Roadways at this point are not necessarily sufficient for two-way traffic.
You will see our operators leaving some snow on the roadway. The reason for this is the preservation of road rock. Road rock is one of the biggest budget items we have within secondary roads, so keeping as much rock on the roadway is essential. Keeping rock on the road both saves taxpayer money and ensures good traveling roadways in spring summer and fall, as each of our roads are on a rotation for granular placement, and won’t necessarily see new rock the following spring.
Day two – Day two would typically be the following day. However, that is not always the case. Weekends, holidays, overnight winds and precipitation all play a role. Day two for this particular storm shaped up to be Monday. Operators will typically start at normal time unless we have some element that has added negatively to the operation.
Day two goals are widening the roadway to accommodate two way traffic, cleaning bridges, cleaning intersections and winging shoulders back. This list of objectives, believe it or not, takes another full day, and occasionally will spill into day three.
Day three – Day three we are pretty much in the clear. Operators are now out completing a process called “tapering”. This is where we are utilizing our wing attachment to taper our shoulder snow at an angle that will allow wind to blow any snow down the shoulder, across the road, and out the other shoulder, leaving a mostly clear roadway.
Things to keep in mind… day 2 is quickly turned back into day 1 if we get more snow, or winds pick up overnight and blow roads back shut.
Operators are very much human. They are doing their best. When I ask them to leave me 2” of snow on the road to preserve rock, it is easier said than done. Sometimes they leave too much snow and sometimes they take too much off and we lose rock. They are always trying their best to find that happy medium, where traveling is smooth as possible, and we keep the rock on the road where we want it.
