Why does Idaho Falls plow snow into the middle of the road?

IDAHO FALLS — Crews have been working around the clock to remove snow from streets in Idaho Falls since it started falling Friday.

North and south streets in zone A, a relatively small area in the center of the city, were plowed Monday. A total of 61 vehicles were towed off city roads so crews could do their job. On Tuesday, plows will focus on west and east streets in the same zone.

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EastIdahoNews.com has received emails and messages from residents who have recently moved to Idaho Falls asking why snow is moved into the middle of the street on larger roads rather than plowed to the sides.

“A larger road has space in the middle. We’re able to plow snow into the middle of the road so we can then haul it off rather than plowing it onto the sidewalks or side of the street,” city spokesman Eric Grossarth explains.

After plows finish a street, a blower and belt loader come through within a few days to move the snow from the road into a dump truck. It’s then hauled away into fields to melt, according to Grossarth.

“This is definitely an efficient way to get snow out of the road quickly so it’s off the lanes of travel and hauled off-site,” Grossarth says. “We can plow it to the middle, get the lanes free so people can drive to where they need to and come back the following days to remove the snow.”

The city aims to have all roads plowed within 72 hours from when snow stops falling. Snow events are declared if more than two inches of snow accumulates on the roads. Parking restrictions are then put into place until streets are cleared.