Jan. 7 – City crews are nearing completion of emergency snow routes and ramping up secondary roadwork amid record snowfall.
A 24-hour cycle of snow plowing reached its second full day on Tuesday, January 7, following a massive snowstorm over the weekend that blanketed St. Joseph with 12 to 18 inches of snow.
“We’re tracking pretty closely to get to the emergencies. I think we had three or four (trucks) that were updating,” said Jackson Jones, superintendent of streets and infrastructure for the city of St. Joseph. “The supervisor will drive them, make sure they are cleared properly and then we will release them.”
Emergency routes throughout the city are divided into 11 sections, called route books, covering nine routes. These routes provide clear paths to major roads, along with access to hospitals, emergency facilities and critical infrastructure, making them the first priority.
Jackson Jones, superintendent of streets and infrastructure, said a normal snow event of two to six inches typically requires 24 to 36 hours for emergency routes to be plowed, but a record of 5 to 6 inches of snow combined with freezing temperatures made the challenges for the future even greater. the process, including delays and equipment failures.
“Most of our trucks are five-ton, single-axle dump trucks, and you’re pushing and grinding on that back end all night,” Jones said. “You start blowing the back end up, you start breaking the feathers. We had a great time with wiper blades.”
Still, the city wants to have all its emergency routes cleared by Tuesday so the department can spread its fleet of 22 trucks over secondary routes. The staff consists of 16 day drivers, 8 night drivers, six mechanics and two loading operators.
“We currently have four books of secondary books, and one of them came in just before I left,” Jones said. “Your secondary districts are designed so that everyone in the city is within two blocks of a plowed road, and then your districts are the remaining districts that end in dead ends.”
Still, it could take days before all areas are safe. St. Joseph has approximately 435 miles of roadway to plow, the same distance as the trip from St. Joseph to Chicago, Illinois.
“When you’re plowing, you’re only clearing one lane. The 435 centerline miles probably equates to about 1,100 or 1,200 miles of plowing. You get to a road like 36th Street, which is four lanes and you’re effectively doing that.” four times,” he said.
The Missouri Department of Transportation also maintains numerous roads and routes, including Interstate 29, Highway 36, and 169 Highway (Belt Highway).
Other transportation routes maintained by MoDOT
* Route 6 from Frederick Ave to Belt Highway East
* Route AC – Riverside from Frederick to South Belt Highway
* Loop 29 — Pear Street from South Belt Highway to Garfield Avenue
* 752 — Mason and Alabama
* 759 — Stockyards Express Way from HWY 36 to just south of Lower Lake Road
* Highway 59 – all except from Atchison Street to Virginia Street, which is maintained by the city
* Highway 59 – all north except St. Joseph Ave from Middleton north to Krug Park Place
* Rochester Road from Belt Highway to I-29, around Speedy’s
