Where does the snow go that’s picked up by Idaho Falls street crews?
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IDAHO FALLS – Snow should be cleared from all commercial and residential streets by Friday night or Saturday morning, according to Idaho Falls Street Superintendent Brian Cardon.
Crews have been working nonstop since Christmas plowing the roads and hauling snow to 14 “dump sites” located throughout the city.
Parking restrictions had been in effect for several days this week to allow crews to get started on the snow removal. The parking restrictions were lifted after the major city roads were plowed, but crews continued to work on residential roads.
“We’ve had 16 contracted dump trucks along with five city trucks and a water division truck out collecting the snow,” Cardon tells EastIdahoNews.com. “The guys then take the snow to vacant fields or designated parking lots and dump it into big piles.”
CLICK HERE TO SEE A MAP OF WHERE DUMP SITES ARE LOCATED
It takes less than five minutes to fill a large dump truck with snow from a loader, according to Cardon. Five or six trucks accompany each loader and crews are on the streets for 12 hours at a time.
“We have a group that works 8 a.m. – 8 p.m. and then the second crew works 8 p.m. – 8 a.m.,” Cardon says. “We plow the snow into the middle of the road on major streets because there isn’t room on the sides. We’d cover sidewalks and restrict lanes of travel if we didn’t put the snow in the medians.”
READ | CITY OF IDAHO FALLS SNOW REMOVAL POLICY MANUAL
Cardon says even though crews are wrapping up their work, drivers need to be careful when approaching loaders and dump trucks.
“The visibility in our equipment isn’t always the best,” Cardon says. “We want people to be safe as possible so nobody gets hurt.”