Columbia Public Works holds snow removal test run

Wednesday is Winter Awareness Day and, coincidentally, Columbia Public Works is doing its annual snow removal test run.

It says the purpose was to get drivers familiar with their routes.

Jason Harville with Columbia Public Works has been driving snow plows for five years and says on the days it snows, he puts down about eight tons of salt in his truck alone.

Jason Harville, Columbia Public Works: “There were some changes this year. Some streets were added to the first priority list. A big part of today was getting the first year drivers out with a veteran driver, pick up some tips and tricks. Kind of get them used to being in the truck driving around traffic.”

This year, about 10 miles have been added to the priority snow removal routes. Harville says two of those roads include Bucks Run and Churchill Drive, which are both hilly areas that have been problems in the past.

He says most of the snow plow drivers cover about 100 to 129 miles in a 12 hour day. That’s close to a full trip to Kansas City or Saint Louis, but at a speed of only 25 miles per hour.

Harville says the biggest problem he has seen is last year’s icy roads.

Harville: “The ice was definitely a major challenge. That was the first time that I personally had to push with that much ice. We found ourselves in kind of a helpless situation where the temperature was so cold, the salt wasn’t going to do any good, wasn’t a whole lot we could do. It was just a waiting game, wait for the temperatures to come up. I really hope we don’t have to encounter that again this year.”

Columbia Public Works says it has about 30 snow removal vehicles ready for this winter season. If more are needed, they have some they can rent and others they can use from other city departments.