News Releases
City preparing for heavy snow on Thursday
(Sent: 2013-02-20 11:47:51)NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
Contact: Megan Gilliland, communications manager, (785) 832-3406
City preparing for heavy snow on Thursday
(Lawrence, Kan.) – City crews have already begun their 12-hour, round-the-clock shifts in preparation of snow heading toward Lawrence on Thursday. The forecast is currently calling for possible light snow on Wednesday evening then turning over to heavy snow around 6 a.m. on Thursday morning. Heavy snow will continue through the evening on Thursday and will begin to move out of the area by 2 a.m. on Friday morning. Wind speed will be an issue with this storm with drifting expected.
“Our crews have completed their pre-treatment passes through the entire city,” said Mark Thiel, assistant public works director. “All streets, including the residential areas, have either been treated with a salt/brine solution or a pre-wetted salt mixture that sticks to the roadways.”
The purpose of the pre-treatment is to provide a barrier which breaks the bond between the snow/ice and the pavement.
Once the snow begins to fall heavily in Lawrence, crews will focus their efforts on keeping roads clear.
“While the snow is falling, our crews will be focused on plowing major roadways first to keep streets open for motorists and emergency vehicles,” said Thiel. “Once the snow has stopped falling, our crews shift efforts to clean-up and plowing snow in residential areas.”
Given the volume of snow that is expected, residential areas may not be completely plowed until Friday and into Saturday.
“We have already called in additional resources to help out,” said Thiel. “Additional city departments and private contractors have already been put on notice for assistance.”
Once the snow stops falling, in addition to plow operations, crews will work on hauling away the snow that has fallen.
“When you wake up in the morning on Thursday, there may not much snow on the ground,” said Megan Gilliland, communications manager. “However, the snow will increase during the day on Thursday and travel around town will get more difficult through the day. If you don’t absolutely have to go out on Thursday – don’t. Stay home if you can and stay off the roadways. Clearing stuck cars from our streets hampers our efforts to keep roads clear and extends the length of time it takes crews to plow.”
City of Lawrence solid waste crews have announced they will start picking up trash earlier on Thursday morning and residents with Thursday collection should set their trash cans out on Wednesday evening.
“We will start our crews as early as we possibly can on Thursday,” said Gilliland. “Our goal is to get crews in and out of the area as quickly as possible Thursday morning so we are not on the roads when street maintenance crews are working on plowing.”
If a trash pick-up is missed during the early collection on Thursday, please call (785) 832-3032 to have trash picked up on Friday instead.
The city will close the top floor of the 9th and New Hampshire Parking Garage at 12:00 a.m. Thursday morning.
To stay informed of city snow operations and closures, please visit www.lawrenceks.org/snow. A traffic map with intersection cameras is available for motorists to see how traffic is moving throughout the city.
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