Clark County’s Level 3 snow emergency was the first Burr has seen in his 17-year tenure, he said.
Main arteries have been cleared and will continue to be a focus as snow continues drifting, Burr said. County-managed secondary streets are passable.
“With this snow being so cold, it’s so light and fluffy, the wind blows it even easier than normal. Usually when we get a big snow, it’s more of a heavy wet snow, it doesn’t blow as easy,” Burr said. “We had everything cleaned off, then we saw snow cover.”
Wind undoes the work of county plows and Burr said the work is “a marathon, not a sprint,” taking each plow about four hours to finish a route, barring any interruptions or complications.
“There were times like Sunday when I was coming down, you go one direction, you turn around and come back and you cannot tell where you’ve plowed,” Burr said.
The snow is not melting due to continuous below-freezing temperatures, but more sunlight would help speed up the process, Burr said.
Some of the engineer office’s trucks have temperature gauges to measure air and pavement temperatures and there were some pavement spots above freezing due to the sun Tuesday, Burr said.
“Right now we’re just kind of at the mercy of the temperatures and the wind,” Burr said.
The county manages 309 miles of road, while several townships manage their own jurisdictions and the city of Springfield has its own plows.
The city is continuing to plow and treat streets and has made solid progress, Service Director Chris Moore said Monday. He said road conditions, particularly residential streets, won’t be ideal for travel through the end of the week.
Drivers should give plows room to work and be careful on all roads, even if they appear clear. Drifting snow around a corner or up a hill could make a previously passable road dangerous, Burr said.
The county has not seen any accidents involving plows this winter and hopes to continue that streak, Burr said.
With icy temperatures expected to continue for several days, the Nehemiah Foundation-run warming shelter at the Salvation Army, 15 S. Plum St., will be open 24 hours through at least Friday. The shelter is in urgent need of volunteers and winter clothing donations.
Donations can be dropped off at the Salvation Army. Volunteers are encouraged to sign up at https://tinyurl.com/nh3tu2x7 or https://tinyurl.com/3et3am7k.
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