Sometimes those “official” snowfall totals don’t reflect reality.
Department of Public Works Director David Manugian Monday said that the weather service employed by the town, which has a snowfall gauge on a municipal building, certified the amount from Saturday night into Sunday morning as two inches.
He respectfully disagrees. “At one point there were five inches. Then the rain came and it packed and packed. And there was a lot of drama in between.”
Snow and ice removal went smoothly, he reported, and a lot of that had to do with readiness.
“With some storms, the challenge is the initial intensity at the start,” Manugian explained. Saturday morning the prediction was two to three inches per hour for the afternoon, “and that can be nearly blinding, adding a safety concern.”
“You want to make sure you have staff here ready to go,” he continued. “We ended up having staff coming in mid to late morning. We had equipment ready and had some contractors in. They worked through Saturday and Saturday night and finished up Sunday morning,” when most of the concern was about icing.
Many sidewalks were cleared early, Manugian said, with some of that work continuing into Sunday.
“We are trying to focus a lot on the schools this year,” Manugian said, because so many more students are arriving by car rather than by school bus. It’s a joint effort since Facilities Department crews are responsible for the school sidewalks, he pointed out.
Manugian said one reason things went smoothly over the weekend was the snowfall on Halloween, which “was a nice test. We got a lot of kinks out of the system.”
Snow and ice treatment and removal are complex operations, coordinated by the DPW Highway Division operations manager and involving not only town but also private vehicles. The DPW has relied on private contractors for supplemental snow removal for decades.
During a plowable snowfall, Manugian said, “We have seven large dump trucks that are focused solely on salting and plowing,” including a plow in the front and another blade under the truck. “Those are our front lines. They get out early to put down salt and scrape.”
“We also have two loaders – we basically have every piece we need. The contractors we use multiply the numbers.”
Manugian said the contractors provide a mix of equipment – loaders, 10-wheel dump trucks, one-ton trucks, pickup trucks. “They have special areas where they work,” he said. “There are a couple of different employment scenarios, depending on the storm.”
The director had a couple of messages for residents. “During these storms, we always appreciate it if people can delay their trips. It’s much safer for the plows with fewer vehicles on the road.” He added that the crews did not encounter parked cars.
Also, he said, on Saturday afternoon, at the DPW facility, “Maybe half a dozen residents came to drop off cardboard for recycling.” There is a container for excess cardboard, he acknowledged, but as heavy equipment moved in and out in response to the weather, “it ended up being a little nerve-wracking.”
Thanks to a mild winter, the town finished fiscal year 2020 without a snow removal deficit. After two weekend storms, a repeat performance already looks doubtful. But the DPW can’t wait until the start of the regular workweek. “We rarely get calls from residents saying, ‘You know, why don’t you take your time to plow my street, to save money?’” he deadpanned.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
Click this link to learn more about The Bedford Citizen’s first community reporter.
Loading ...
