Skip to main content

Snow removal becoming challenging for local road crews

By Sara Quam
If clearing a sidewalk or driveway after a snowstorm seems daunting, try clearing an entire city and 300 miles of rural roads.

That's what the city of Luverne and the County Highway Department faced after a weekend of heavy snowfall. The city and county both used at least 15 hours of worker time Saturday and Sunday in their efforts to clear roads.

County Engineer Mark Sehr said, "You have to balance between machine time and salaries and clearing the roads."

"We've spent a lot of money on sand and salt," Darrell Huiskes, Luverne public works director said.

So far, Luverne has gone through 225 tons of salt - spending about $12,000 - and is waiting for 75 more tons. "It's from the state, and we've been waiting because everyone needs it now," Huiskes said.

When the city gets the salt, it mixes it with four parts sand before putting it on roadways. Luverne now has about 25 tons of salt left to tide the city over until that shipment arrives. In all of last year, the city went through just 80 tons of salt.

County maintenance supervisor Walter Stearns said Saturday, Sunday and Monday took up almost 30 tons of the salt and sand mixture. "This is starting to compare to the winter of 1996-97," he said.

When city streets look clear, it doesn't mean the job is done. Huiskes said, "It'll take us about five days to finish after we've started."

The county isn't quite done either. Stearns expects all roads to be open to two-lane traffic by Friday. Most blacktop roads were cleared Tuesday, but others had to wait.

The city has exhausted space on the west side of the dam where it piles snow. It's now started hauling snow north of the river, near the power plant.

Luverne has to clear all city parking lots including Blue Mound Liquor, the library and the airport so crews are busy long after streets appear finished.

Clearing snow after last weekend's storm was difficult. The snow was a heavy, wet variety and slow-moving to push aside.

The city faces additional problems with vehicles parked on the street.

It used to interrupt television broadcasts to announce snow emergencies, but federal regulations have stopped that.

The local radio station can't broadcast the announcement because its nighttime programming is syndicated. To help the city, residents should avoid street parking when it snows because it's likely the city will be plowing.

The county also asks for patience. Townships and outlying cities are responsible for their own snow removal, but Stearns said clearing the 300 miles heÕs responsible for isn't easy.

You must log in to continue reading. Log in or subscribe today.