Public works crews clear most roads in Columbia, Boone County

Columbia and Boone County public works crews worked overtime this weekend making sure the roads were clear and safe for drivers.

Both departments said Monday that primary roads are clear and clean.

Boone County crews covered hundreds of miles of road and 52 subdivisions over the weekend. Crews stopped work at about 11:30 a.m. Monday and are sticking around to do equipment maintenance, but not much else needs to be done during the day.

“We’re in good shape,” said Bryan Boyce, a road supervisor for Boone County Public Works. “We won’t be running operations tonight unless we have an emergency.”

Barry Dalton of Columbia Public Works said the main and secondary roads have been treated and should be clear. Some neighborhoods haven’t been hit yet, but Dalton said anyone can call and report a covered road they believe could be dangerous to drivers.

“People can call the city number,” he said. “The street division will send a crew out to salt the street.”

Dalton said that since temperatures warmed up a bit on Monday, salt will be more effective than it was in subzero temperatures.

Dalton and Boyce said the sun will continue to melt any leftover ice on the roads in the area. They will watch overnight to see if there will be a refreeze of water on the roads, but they said there shouldn’t be too much of it overnight.

Dalton said there could be a possibility of black ice, so drivers should continue to exercise caution.

“People are feeling comfortable, but we would say it’s not really time to do that yet,” he said.

Michelle Baumstark of Columbia Public Schools said the buses are ready to go on Tuesday should there be school. She also said the parking lots and areas that CPS takes care of are clear. They are still concerned about a few routes and are getting updates from public works about the status of those areas.

“We are very hopeful that we will be in school on Tuesday,” she said. “I’m sure a lot of students are as well, because they want to finish their finals.”

Baumstark said principals at the high schools, which have final exams scheduled, are working on plans and alerting students about final schedules.