As we hit near-record totals of December snowfall. Plowing streets and sidewalks means the snow is piling up.
Large mounds of snow are appearing just about everywhere, and they’re not easy to get rid of.
“This much snow is very difficult to move. We’re not able to plow like a normal plow where you drive down the street and it rolls of of the moldboard. We’re actually having to push the snow over to the side of the road and then back up and push the snow over,” said Jeff Heinz, Bismarck Public Works Director.
A question on everyone’s minds is where the snow goes. One location is near the Bismarck landfill.
“We have four right now that we’re using, one in each corner of the city. And we’ve got other properties that have been kind of arranged through local developers that they’re making available to us. So, as these sites fill up, we’ll start moving into those locations”
It’s not just the new snow making everything difficult. It’s all of it combined that’s creating a hazard for drivers.
“The previous two blizzards that we had have left a lot of snow on the boulevards. So, as far as space for the snow, we’re piling it higher and higher, which is creating visibility issues. We’ll have to go back and open those up on intersections so people can see when they’re driving.”
Once snow is plowed its consistency changes. It’s not that light, fluffy snow we like to imagine.
“Hauling it, blowing it, shoveling it, all those things change once we start pushing it. So it becomes a very difficult operation.”
Heintz says that Bismarck is trying to get plowing done by Saturday or Sunday. After that, it will take about 2 to 3 weeks to haul out of town.
Heintz mentioned that residental side walk clearing will be discussed at tonight’s Bismarck City Commission meeting.
