Even though no snow is expected Wednesday, Columbia’s snow plows will take to the streets to prepare for winter.
In the city’s annual Dry Snow Run, plow drivers will review safety procedures and practice driving the snow routes.
“The better our plow drivers know these routes, the safer and more efficient they will be, and the better prepared we will be as a City when an actual snow does occur,” said Street Superintendent Sam Thomas in a press release from the Public Works department.
Flyers will be placed on cars that park on designated snow routes to remind owners to move their cars if snow accumulation reaches 2 inches or more. These flyers explain that cars will be ticketed and towed if they are not moved.
The Dry Snow Run will begin at the Grissum Building, 1313 Lakeview Ave., which is the headquarters for snow operations, and the Leroy Anderson Salt Dome, 1101 Big Bear Blvd., which is where the city stores its plows and road treatment materials.
Columbia has more than 1,300 lane miles of streets and 1,100 cul-de-sacs maintained by Public Works, which make it necessary to prioritize roads during ice and snowstorms. A lane mile is one mile multiplied by the number of lanes.
The city designates priority routes to connect major highways, hospitals, schools, fire stations and commercial areas.
When there is less than 4 inches of snow, crews focus on priority routes during normal business hours, then work their way to residential streets and areas as time permits; if snow exceeds 4 inches, crews work around the clock to treat and plow every street, beginning with priority streets.
After the plowing is done, snow inspectors check the road. If at least one lane is open for a front-wheel-drive car at a slow speed, it is considered passable, according to the Public Works department.
The city will spend between $300,000 and $900,000 on its “winter response” depending on the weather’s severity, said Richard Stone, engineering manager for the Street Division. “In years with higher than budgeted costs, additional funding has to be sought from other sources, most often from Street Division maintenance funds.”
In the 2016 winter months, Columbia only had 1.6 inches of snow, according to U.S. Climate Data. So the city spent only $232,271.92 on snow removal out of a budgeted $404,296. As for 2017, the city has already spent $310,217.11 of the allotted $429,992.26, according to Barry Dalton, the Community Relations Specialist for the Public Works department.
“In years with lower than budgeted costs, any money not spent on winter weather response is typically recommended to be spent for Street Maintenance activities, but is ultimately programmed by council,” said Stone.
The city budgeted $528,904 for fiscal year 2018, Stone said.