Road Crews Brace for Snow Again

As road crews continue to clean up from last week’s snow the next round could come before the streets are clear. Those in charge of keeping the roads clean in Mid-Missouri said their main focus is the piles of snow on the ground right now. “We will just deal with it as it comes and hope for the best, and plan for the worst,” said Larry Benz from Cole County Public Works.As crews still work to get snow off the roads in Mid-Missouri, they’re gearing up to do it all again. However since the last storm, crews said there are ways to prevent some of the same problems. Now they are asking for the publics help. “The more people we can keep off the street earlier in the storm, the better job our plows are going to be able to do, the more ahead of it we are going to be able to get,” said Steve Sapp from Columbia Public Works.”Move your cars into the driveways and get the off the road when we have to try to get in and wiggle around these cars parked out on the streets it just adds time,” said Benz.Crews said what cannot happen in the next storm is people abandoning their cars in the middle of the road. “The more cars there are on the road it takes us longer to be able to get the roads cleaned up,” said Jason Shafer.Some people who live on residential streets and cul-de-sacs are probably still left with at least partially covered roads. Road Crews said they’re still working on them after spending hours maneuvering around cars on major routes. “We have to put it (snow) wherever we can and usually that’s on the shoulders and cul-de-sacs present a special challenge to us,” said Sapp.Small hills of snow have been appearing in neighborhoods and will just get bigger with this next storm; however when it comes to major routes MoDOT is doing what they can. “We have been pushing all the snow on the shoulders on the road back to make room for any extra snow,” said Shafer. MoDOT has crews working all night Sunday and until this new storm is over. They will have 225 trucks out across Mid-Missouri.Both Columbia and Jefferson City are giving their crews a small break tonight, and make sure the gear is ready to go starting Monday morning.Road crews said clearing the sidewalks is the land owner’s responsibility, but many are still filled with snow. Officials do urge drivers to watch out for anyone walking on the roads, and to simply avoid driving during this upcoming storm.