Charleston brings out winter precautions

By: Kristen Larsen/ City Editor

Posted: 12/2/05

Snow covered the ground, tree branches and cars on Thursday morning. With the snow comes slick streets covered in slush and ice, making drivers more cautious as they make their daily trips.

Charleston's Public Works is prepared to make the streets safer for commuters.

"We had salt delivered (on Tuesday) so we have it on hand," said Quincy Combs, Public Works superintendent.

Public Works starts preparing for winter by making sure all the potholes are filled. It also divides the city into six areas and assigns at least one plow to each area. Drivers are on-call 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We work for however long it takes until the streets are cleared," Combs said.

Depending on the forecast, if less than four inches of snow is going to fall, the city does pre-salt. If it's more than four inches, though, it wouldn't help to pre-salt, Combs said.

High-traffic areas are worked on first. Falling gas prices also help with the snow removal budget.

"The gas prices were hurting us when they were over three dollars," Combs said. "Now that they are falling down, they are fitting with our budget estimates."

Even if the prices do start to rise again, it would not affect the removal technique.

Drivers should also make sure their cars are ready for winter. Although there is nothing additional needed for the winter season, a routine oil change also includes inspections of everything under the hood and underneath a car, said Misty Kessler, service manager at Diepholz Chevrolet Cadillac.

Residents are also reminded about snow routes throughout the city. Once there are two inches of snow, residents are asked to remove their cars from the streets. Otherwise they will be towed.