Maintenance crews reflect on snowstorm and subsequent cleanup | City News

“With temperatures like that, nothing really helps,” Wintrode said, referring to some of the pretreatment workers preparing for the storm. “For the snow we got, it takes a long time, it takes longer than a normal storm.”

Wintrode and other drivers have completed 12- to 13-hour snowplow shifts each as the city nears completion of its 1,382 miles of streets and 1,655 cul-de-sacs. The process allows for a short break and some sleep before the next shift, but Wintrode said drivers realize the importance of the work as they work through it.

“You know it’s going to be a long day. Towards the end you’re just ready to go home and rest because you know you’re going to come back and do it all again,” he said. “It takes a toll, but the work has to be done because otherwise no one can move in the city… All we know is that we have to be here and do our job and wake up and do it again until it’s completely finished.” is.

Larry Sanchez Jr., a 34-year veteran of the city’s construction staff, said a unique aspect of this year’s storm, besides its severity, was the number of newbies on staff performing the maintenance work. Sanchez said the multi-day snowfall created a learning curve, but most were able to figure out the finer details by Sunday.

Both Sanchez and Wintrode had one piece of advice for the public ahead of the next winter storm: stay off the roads as much as possible. Sanchez said he received 50 to 60 calls a day during the snowfall about abandoned cars because people were trying to drive in poor conditions: “Stay home, let us do (our job), and after that you’ll get out smoothly.” “ .”