How Does St. Cloud Go About Plowing the Roads?

(KNSI) — With snow possibly on the way Friday and months to go in the snowy season, Director of Public Services with the City of St. Cloud Tracy Hodel says they’ve gotten some questions about how the city goes about plowing the roads.

Hodel tells KNSI that many variables determine when the plows hit the roads. “I think the biggest thing is for people to understand that every snow and ice event is different, and we respond differently to each of those based off several variables. You’ve got different temperatures, so sometimes the deicing will work on this temperature, but not that temperature, you’ve got to look at what’s the forecast before and after, because that’ll change our procedures. The time of day will change our procedures. We want to get out there when there’s not a lot of traffic, so you’re going to see our plows out there at one o’clock in the morning, two o’clock in the morning. That’s when we’re going to be out there just because we don’t want to be dealing with all the traffic.”

So, which roads get cleared first? Hodel says the crews go right for the main arteries such as County Road 75, Clearwater Road, Cooper Avenue, Veterans Drive, etc. Then, she says, they hit feeder roads or main streets into and out of neighborhoods, then downtown, cul-de-sacs, alleys, and sidewalks. But, if it’s a bigger storm, the plows may hit the main arteries and feeder roads again before moving on.

Hodel says, especially when there are back-to-back snow events, “We’d like to ask the public for patience and understanding. When we have multiple snow events and ice events coming back to back, we really don’t like our crews out there and our staff out there for more than 12 hours at a time. Sometimes they are out there for 14 hours. But we do need to get them back to get rest. So we’re not out there 24/7 because we have to give them rest.”

She adds that it’s not just strictly public works out clearing snow. She says public utilities will fill in for plow drivers, sanitation, and the parks department all helping out.

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