(ST. JOSEPH, Mo.) It was a busy scene at the St. Joseph Public Works Department.
"If it's coming down really hard, it kind of wants to put you in a lull, but you've got to kind of look past that," said Josh Henderson, a laborer for the City of St. Joseph.
City crews have a lot of work ahead of them, but someone has to put miles of roads back into shape
"There's around 430 miles. It's close, and of course that's both ways. We have to go one way and come back the other way, sometimes more than once," said Keven Schneider, Asst. Superintendent of Streets and Sewers for St. Joseph.
Around seventeen drivers came in to plow.
Several, like Henderson, were pulled out from their normal jobs like sewer maintenance.
"It's nothing like it, but it's still part of your job description," said Henderson.
Drivers loaded up with salt, and hit the roads.
A normal shift lasts around 12 hours.
"I've got to watch the map and find out which way to go. I've got to watch for the center line, because I try to hit the center line, and that way, it goes to the right," Henderson said.
The first priority was the emergency snow routes.
The city tried to finish those in the first day.
"Once we finish those, we go into secondaries, which start to get into the neighborhoods. When we finish secondaries, everybody in town will be within two blocks of a treated street," said Schneider.
It's not always a smooth ride though.
Sometimes even the trucks get stuck.
They try to salt themselves out and keep going.
"If that doesn't completely work, and you're completely stuck, you'll have to see if you need to be towed," said Henderson.
Crews can't plow down to the pavement because of pot holes and gas lines, but have ways to get snow left behind.
"The last truck in the group does salt so as long as we get a little traffic on it, some sunlight, something like that will actually take it on down," Schneider said.
The city warned for drivers to be careful with the snow while the work was still going on."
The City of St. Joseph says it can take between 72 and 96 hours to finish plowing the streets.
"If it's coming down really hard, it kind of wants to put you in a lull, but you've got to kind of look past that," said Josh Henderson, a laborer for the City of St. Joseph.
City crews have a lot of work ahead of them, but someone has to put miles of roads back into shape
"There's around 430 miles. It's close, and of course that's both ways. We have to go one way and come back the other way, sometimes more than once," said Keven Schneider, Asst. Superintendent of Streets and Sewers for St. Joseph.
Around seventeen drivers came in to plow.
Several, like Henderson, were pulled out from their normal jobs like sewer maintenance.
"It's nothing like it, but it's still part of your job description," said Henderson.
Drivers loaded up with salt, and hit the roads.
A normal shift lasts around 12 hours.
"I've got to watch the map and find out which way to go. I've got to watch for the center line, because I try to hit the center line, and that way, it goes to the right," Henderson said.
The first priority was the emergency snow routes.
The city tried to finish those in the first day.
"Once we finish those, we go into secondaries, which start to get into the neighborhoods. When we finish secondaries, everybody in town will be within two blocks of a treated street," said Schneider.
It's not always a smooth ride though.
Sometimes even the trucks get stuck.
They try to salt themselves out and keep going.
"If that doesn't completely work, and you're completely stuck, you'll have to see if you need to be towed," said Henderson.
Crews can't plow down to the pavement because of pot holes and gas lines, but have ways to get snow left behind.
"The last truck in the group does salt so as long as we get a little traffic on it, some sunlight, something like that will actually take it on down," Schneider said.
The city warned for drivers to be careful with the snow while the work was still going on."
The City of St. Joseph says it can take between 72 and 96 hours to finish plowing the streets.
