Friday March 29, 2024
News Sections

Louisville Is Ready For Winter Weather

Joined by the 265-member Louisville Metro Snow Team, Mayor Greg Fischer declared today that the city is battle ready for winter 2017-18. The declaration came after the Snow Team spent hours working through a mock snow event that included driving all road treatment routes.

Mayor Fischer said, “Most important to the snow fighting effort are the 265 or so men and women who make up the Snow Team. They are the ones who will spring into action any hour of the day, any day of the week, to make it safe for the rest of us to get where we need to go when it snows.”

The Snow Team is led by Metro Public Works under the leadership of Director Vanessa Burns and Assistant Director for Roads and Operations Brian Funk.

Funk will direct the team, which also includes the Public Works Solid Waste Management Division, Metro Parks, the Department of Codes & Regulations, and the Division of Fleet and Facilities.

Louisville will begin the snow season this year with 33,500 tons of salt on hand. A contract is in place to order more if needed. Most of the salt will be stored underground in Louisville Mega Cavern, 1841 Taylor Ave., with about 13,500 tons distributed to four above ground locations, where it will be loaded onto salt spreading vehicles as needed.

The city will also continue to pretreat roads with brine ahead of snowfalls. Brine is a saltwater solution that reduces the adherence of snow and ice to pavement and reduces slick spots.

Snow removal progress can be followed via an interactive online map. During snow events we will post a link to the snow map on the city website www.Louisvilleky.gov and the Department of Public Works site at www.louisvilleky.gov/publicworks. The latest updates will also be posted on Twitter. Just follow the @LouPubWorks profile.

City snow routes include arterial and collector roads, bus routes and roads to major employers and emergency facilities.  The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and private contractors clear about 600 miles in the city. About 1,000 miles of neighborhood streets are only cleared when a snow emergency has been officially declared.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Archives