City says nearly two-thirds of roads considered passable after winter storm

COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ) -

Columbia Public Works said plow drivers have 65 percent of city roads "passable" for drivers as of Saturday morning.

A Saturday morning news release said that a 31-person crew worked that morning to plow residential streets. The city had previously said a 20-person crew would relieve the personnel working on Friday following a snowstorm that hit overnight.

Public Works spokesman John Ogan said in the news release that 40 percent of residential streets were considered passable, which means a road is at least one car wide, even if some snow is still there. The city's Snow Route Priority Viewer showed most of the city as "passable," with crews actively working on neighborhoods on the edge of town, Downtown and the north-central neighborhood around Columbia College.

"Crew coverage for the 7 p.m. Saturday shift will be determined based on progress made throughout the day and updated forecasts for a potential overnight dusting of snow," Ogan wrote.

Columbia Solid Waste crews spent Saturday picking up trash from houses it missed throughout the week due to winter weather. That included Monday customers whose service was canceled as well as Friday customers who trash crews could not reach by the end of the day.