In response to the recent snowstorm, crews in Arlington, Virginia, worked 12-hour shifts for seven straight days before scaling back continuous operations.
Ever since, they’ve been working to get roads, sidewalks and bus stops clear, according to Jeremy Hassan, bureau chief for Water, Sewers and Streets in Arlington County.
The county, Hassan told WTOP, is responsible for clearing about 1,000 lane miles in response to winter weather — that includes turn lanes, bike lanes and bridges.
As part of the cleanup effort, neighborhoods across the D.C. region have been confronted with a choice — haul the snow away, or push it toward the curbs or parking lots, and hope temperatures inch closer to seasonal averages so it eventually melts.
“Some of our drivers that have been doing this for 10 or 20 years, it’s even unique to them, because it’s not something that you can really train for, prepare for. They were, on the fly, making adjustments to handle it as best you can,” Hassan said.
In Arlington, crews have been hauling it to a handful of predetermined locations. The list includes parking lots and other facilities, but time management and convenience are considered, because of the number of trips that have to be made.
In some cases, such as near the county courthouse, hardpack snow is piled up and closing a stretch of the street.
In other locations, Hassan said, there are snow-melters operating around the clock. It’s the first time in a decade the county has had to use the equipment.
“Day and night, 24/7, we had to haul over 5,000 truckloads of materials from our commercial corridors,” Hassan said. “And even then, there’s still material out there that we’re trying to prioritize and find that good balance of, what’s enough to get the community out there to be able to enjoy businesses, make their medical appointments, take their family where they need to be; but also try to hope that Mother Nature … helps us kind of takes its part of that as well.”
Some of the drop-off sites are at full capacity, Hassan said, adding, “Once we’re out there plowing, it gets to a point of where we’ve kind of maximized our efficiency of where we can push things.”
The storm presented unique challenges, he said, because sleet came after the snow, almost creating “a skating rink on top of six inches of fluffy snow.”
Plows are effective in pushing material off streets, but their strength is limited once it freezes, Hassan said.
“So now, when you’re hitting it with that plow, it adds weight, it adds resistance, and they’re trying to push it to the sides,” he said. “Also, it moves in chunks versus fluffy snow, which is more like just sand and material you could push it out to the sides.”
While the county has prioritized commercial corridors, with a lot of pedestrians and on-street parking, “you’re kind of limited where you push it, because the businesses are trying to push it closer to the street and the sidewalk. We’re pushing it to the street, and that pile just accumulates,” Hassan said.
“In those areas, the only other option when you get to a certain point is to remove it physically, which calls for drastic hauling operations,” he added.
The work will continue, Hassan said, until students can safely navigate bus stops, and county drivers find intersections and traffic patterns that are “looking good.”
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