A Lull After the Storm: Breakfast for Bedford’s DPW Plow Drivers

February 10, 2015
DPW plow drivers taking a breakfast break after a long night on the road - Image (c) JMcCT 2015
DPW plow drivers taking a breakfast break after a long night on the road – Image (c) JMcCT 2015

Compiled by The Bedford Citizen

A 'plowman's' breakfast - Image (c) JMcCT, 2015
A ‘plowman’s’ breakfast – Image (c) JMcCT, 2015

Well before sunrise this morning, Art Smith and Rich Daugherty arrived at Town Center. They opened the kitchen and prepped a hot breakfast – scrambled eggs, fresh from Chip-in Farm; toast, bacon and sausage with orange juice; and plenty of strong coffee, courtesy of Starbucks – to feed the plow drivers who had worked through the night clearing Bedford’s streets and sidewalks.

The sidewalks in Bedford Center were plowed, and the Common’s perimeter was sharply defined, with a clean vertical edge aligned with the curb before 5:15 am, and most of the town’s 80+ miles of roadway were cleared to the pavement, so that schools could open this morning.

Gathered behind Town Center, shortly after dawn - Image (c) JMcCT
Gathered behind Town Center, shortly after dawn – Image (c) JMcCT

More than two dozen drivers enjoyed the breakfast and a warm, convivial atmosphere. One described walking after his long night behind a plow, “You know, like when a baby deer takes its first steps.” With the truck’s stiff suspension and chains on each wheel, it’s a rough ride.

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The DPW’s newest hire began his employment as a member of the Sewer Department at the end of last week. Even before his time card was ready, he hit the streets at the helm of a plow, pulling long shifts along with his co-workers.

While plowing has been the main event since Saturday, several drivers were tasked with freeing salt spreaders that had unaccountably frozen solid during the storm. “It’s an awful job,” one said. The DPW’s Carlisle Road salt storage facility was nearly full on January 26, and the department was waiting for an order of additional tonnage. By this morning the barn was nearly empty, and the new delivery has yet to arrive. Because of the snow emergency, many salt delivery drivers have been diverted to their companies’ plowing operations.

DPW Director Roy Sorenson and Highway Chief Earle Elliott agreed that the intensity and frequency of the three recent snow storms has stretched DPW resources, leaving little if any time to repair equipment, and giving the crews almost no time to recover between each major event.

“It’s unprecedented,” said Sorenson, “and there’s more on the way.

Cleared walkways and snow banks on Bedford Common - Image (c) JMcCT
Cleared walkways and snow banks on Bedford Common – Image (c) JMcCT

 

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Mindy Pollack-Fusi
February 15, 2015 10:49 am

Great coverage as always Julie and co and great work plow men!! And great going art and rich!

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