Carson City snow plow drivers turn first big winter storm into 72-hour 'hot seat' operation

Snow removal around Carson City is always a challenge, as some areas of the city get more snow than others. For plow drivers the challenge is a three-way street operation. Remove the snow off the heavily trafficked main city roads first, then the less traveled roads and finally local neighborhoods.

When the snow began to fly last week, Carson City Public Works activated its own army of plows and drivers, working around the clock for 72 hours — in shifts known as "hot seats" — where snow removal equipment never sits idle.

"When we get these kinds of storms where we know ahead of time when and where and how much to expect, it gives us time to prepare. With this storm we had plenty of time and an idea of what we were looking at," said Carson City Public Works Director Darren Schulz.

With anywhere between 1 foot to 2 feet of snow that fell last week over the 3-day duration of the storm, Carson City Public Works was on top of what was falling, with 12 of its plows and one grater operating continuously, 24-hour daily for three days.

That's a lot of snow removal, literally tons of it, in three days.

Carson City Public Works wasn't alone in its preparation plan. Locally, the Nevada Department of Transportation covers state highways, from I-580, Highway 50 East and West and Highway 395. They were also on top of the storms as well as well as in adjacent, Washoe, Douglas and Lyon counties.

Farther south along Highway 395, from Topaz to Walker Canyon and extending into Mammoth and Bishop, was a different story for Caltrans, with Highway 395 fully opened Tuesday after several feet of snow covered the roadway in the higher elevations.

While Mother Nature can throw in her share of surprises, this first significant storm of the year, at least for Carson City, didn't cause as many local vehicle accidents.

A day prior to the snow falling, Carson City Public Works laid down brine on the street. This heavily diluted salt mixture is able to keep icy build-up off the roadways, even when motorists are driving over snow that is packing down on the surface. The snowmelt solution used is not that kind of salt mix they put on the streets in the midwest and east, which is pretty much all salt, and, over time, can cause vehicle rust.

That's not the case with the solution NDOT or Carson City Public Works puts down on its roadways.

"It is a small mixture of salt, already dissolved in water that makes up the brine; it is different than spreading salt on the road because this is very diluted," he said. "You would have to drive on brine covered roads over a period of a lot of weeks before it would have any significant impact to a vehicle."

Next was dealing with the actual storm itself and how Carson City plow operations were spread out.

The city has 225 lane miles of Priority 1 roads. Those roads include Carson Street, College Parkway and Koontz Lane, Clearview and Roop streets, among others.

Priority 2 streets make up roughly 111 lanes miles. These streets are Stafford Way, Baker, Valley View, Longview Way, Sherman, Nye, Carmine, and Deer Run Road among others. The remainder of the Carson City limits, makes up roughly 650 miles of lanes. These are considered Priority 3.

The three-day storm hit heavy, then light, then heavy and then light again in intensity. The nature of the storm allowed plow drivers to get to priority 2 and neighborhoods much quicker because once precipitation eased for a bit allowing for the main roads to be cleared, the drivers could put their efforts into priority 2 and 3 roadways, Schulz explained.

So for those driving in town, sure there was snow in the primary and secondary roadways, but the build-up wasn't for very long. Plus snowplow drivers were able to get to neighborhood roadways sooner, especially along the west side of Carson City, which got hit with the most snow, he said.

While it is typical for Carson City Public Works to get complaints, especially when it comes to berms against residential driveways, the city encourages people to be patient as the snow will pack and melt sooner than later. This time around, smaller plows were able to get into neighborhoods quicker and get to the snow sooner, allowing for a better overall snowmelt for snow-packed berms.

"Berms are a part of the byproduct of snowplowing. We do realize it is difficult, especially for older residents," Schulz said. "Where we could, we went in with a smaller plow to help make a gap in front of driveways to get people out. This is more of an exception rather than the rule."

One concern that arises during these big winter storms is that some commercial snow plow operators have a habit of pushing snow into the roadways with the intention that the city plow will get to it. This is not only unwise, but is also illegal.

"It really affects plowing and the ability for emergency service vehicles, such as ambulances, to get to their designation," said Schulz. "When we see people ignoring the law it is frustrating. Our plow drivers can't get out and stop them."

In the future, the city may consider citing these commercial drivers, he said.