Fargo, N.D. – Local sanitation crews who have been busy going through their usual springtime cleanup routes are now having to suddenly switch gears ahead of a significant April snowstorm.
The forecast is calling for several inches of snow to fall across the region between Tuesday and Wednesday.
Fargo Public Works is trying to get ahead of the game before the worst arrives.
“There’s a little bit of a transition to get our fleet back in order for snow removal,” says Fargo Public Works Services Manager Corey Hoium.
Houim expects a staff of almost 30 to arrive for a late Monday night shift to start hooking plows to trucks that have currently been helping with street sweeping and pothole repairs.
Before any plowing commences, crews will be treating the roads when they become slippery.
“We’ll be ready to go out and start applying chemicals and road salt,” says Hoium. “We have the capability of sending out 12 trucks out on the street.”
In all, Hoium says the city has more than two dozen pieces of equipment and their disposal, including plows and chemical spreaders.
The city is also asking drivers to be mindful of creating a clear, safe path for crews to do their job.
“If folks can obey parking restrictions that would be greatly appreciated,” says Hoium. “Even better would be to not park on the street at all.”
People are also asked to be patient as far as the timing of their own street plowing, since crews must first handle emergency snow routes.
“If we have to run the emergency routes twice that’s at the 10 hour, possibly 12 hour mark [with plowing],” says Houim. “Then we would want to be at least starting going through the residentials to start punching holes through there.”
The forecast is calling for 4 to 8 inches of snow in the Fargo-Moorhead area, with possibly higher amounts outside of the immediate region.
