RENO, Nev. (KOLO) – Snowplow crews in Reno haven’t had much time to take a break as they race to keep roads passable while being inundated with snow this week.
“The most challenging part has been the heavy accumulations all at once,” says Tim Hendricks, Street Divisions Manager at the City of Reno. “So, with the break we were able to get neighborhoods, but now being back to priority ones, it puts us behind on servicing the residents, allowing them to get in and out of their neighborhoods.”
The bigger problem for city crews isn’t just what’s falling from the sky, it’s what bonds to the pavement.
“The ice, once it’s compacted, it’s hard to get up,” Hendricks said. “That’s when we need the temperature changes to really help us get that off the road. Once it’s bonded, it’s there. So, until we get the temperature changes, it’s hard to really get that out of the way.”
That means until temperatures rise, road conditions remain treacherous.
But there’s another challenge city crews face on these roads: frustrated and impatient drivers.
“It’s a 60,000-pound vehicle coming at you that can’t stop, so please give them room,” Hendricks said about the snowplows and crews maintaining the roads.
These rigs can’t stop on a dime. One wrong move from a driver; one miscalculation, and both the crew and the motorist are in danger.
City officials have a simple message for drivers attempting to navigate roads during winter conditions: slow down.
The best way to support their effort, officials say, is to give their equipment room, and understand that these exhausted crews are working around the clock to keep the city moving.
For real-time road conditions and closures, visit nvroads.com.
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