Snowplow drivers clear roads through back-to-back storms
Dec 2, 2022, 1:42 PM | Updated: 5:56 pm
FILE: Salt Lake City snowplows. (Salt Lake City Government)
(Salt Lake City Government)
BLUFFDALE, Utah — Snowplows have been going long before the sun came up on Friday morning responding to the latest snowstorm.
Earlier this week, they tended to more snow.
UDOT Region Two’s South Area Supervisor, Jake Brown, said workers were called in early Friday morning to start tackling the roads.
A typical snowplow can hold up to eight yards of salt.
To give you an idea of how much 8 yards of salt is, that’s about the equivalent of four refrigerators.
“They go out and they do their route and their salt, and then they come back and get some more,” said Brown.
@UDOTRegionTwo has been hard at work this week with all the snow! ❄️
Workers were called in this am early to get on the road!
They’re still making trips back and forth to get salt.
I asked them how much salt they can fit in a plow truck. The answer may surprise you! @KSL5TV pic.twitter.com/nL6aUl39U1
— Karah Brackin (@KB_ON_TV) December 2, 2022
Brown said they get a weather forecast twice a day they review closely.
“We plan around the commute. The commute’s probably the worst time it can snow. That’s when we have the most amount of traffic on the road,” Brown said.
Putting down anywhere from 150-250 pounds of sale per lane mile, to help tackle that, he said they try to break up the work in shifts so they can cover a 24-hour day.
While a snowstorm may seem to be gone midday, he said there is still work to get done.
“Speeds actually pick up. Once the road starts getting a little slushy, speed stats to pick up, but the snowplows still out there doing their job. Just be aware of them, and give them plenty of room,” said Brown.
Brown said drivers can bell by giving the snowplows room to work.
He said plow drivers do not want to make things any trickier for drivers, but rather, they want to make things easier to help everyone stay safe on the roads.
Enough snow had accumulated on the roads in Canyons School District to prompt officials to take learning fully online. 34,000 students, 50 schools, and 6,000 employees made the switch to learn from home Friday morning.
Snowplows were going long before sunrise Friday responding to the latest snowstorm.
“The minute that we had to start our buses rolling down the roads is when we got really hit by the snowstorm,” Jeff Haney, spokesman for the Canyons School District said.
According to Haney district officials notified parents and teachers about the change as early as 5:30 a.m.
