Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutPolicies - Public WorksWINTER MAINTENANCE POLICY GENERAL ADOPTED: March 23, 2021 The purpose of the Grant County Winter Maintenance Policy is to provide the priorities and procedures used to remove snow and ice on Grant County Roads. The goal of this policy is to create safe and passable roads within a reasonable period recognizing that each winter storm has its unique characteristics. This policy also serves as a guide to the Road District Supervisor, or their designee, to make decisions as to when to deploy snow removal equipment. Strict adherence to this policy does not guarantee dry, bare pavements or gravel surfaces and it should not be expected that these conditions will exist after a winter storm event. The Grant County Public Works Department will endeavor to maintain roads for winter driving conditions. The Grant County Public Works Department sands and snowplows about 1,625 miles of maintained County Roads from three primary maintenance facilities: Ephrata (District 1), Moses Lake (District 2) and Quincy (District 3). BASIS OF POLICY Certain roads in the County have a greater volume of traffic and require a higher priority for maintenance to serve the users. The concern of safety, general welfare, and duration of travel necessitate that priority be given to certain roads. However, to provide efficient operations, it may be necessary to partially complete a lower priority road to reach a road of higher priority. Snow and ice removal should generally be based on the following priority: Priority 1— Generally the highest volume roads with a functional classification of arterials, major collectors, and minor collectors. Priority 2 - Roads with a functional classification of minor collector and some higher volume local access roads. Priority 3 - Lower volume minor collectors and local access roads. Priority 4—All BST roads with an average daily traffic (ADT)less than 500ADT and gravel roads with anADT greater than lOO. Priority 5—Gravel orunsurfaced roads with anADT less than 100. Unless otherwise assigned, equipmen1andpersonne|wiUperfonnsnowandkzcontro|firstonPhorbv 1roads onacounty-wide basis.Asconditionsondtimepenmit,p|ovvngofPhoritv2roadswiUfoUovv and soonuntil all roads normally plowed can beused. In addition., Grant County has identified and assigned a snow removal priority number (l-5) for each County road. Level 1 represents the highest priority, level 4 is the lowest priority,level 5identifies those roads with noCounty provided snow and ice control. Emergencies such aspower outages, ambulance calls, fires, etc. may take precedence over all other established maintenance routines. SERVICE ACTIVITIES Routine/Daily Senvice-Wintermaintenanceactivities following anovernight storm occurring during the week will commence generally between the hours of 5:00 AM and G:OO AM. Winter maintenance activities for minor collectors will be accomplished following completion of maintenance on major collectors. Road crews work a single, 8 -hour shift Monday- Friday. After hours, weekends, and holidays are onan as needed callout basis for evening or weekend storms. Weekend/Evening Senvice-Shou|daneveningorweekendstorm occu�atthe discretion ofthe Road District Supervisor ordesignee, apartial crew will bemobiUzed,ifconditions wananttoprovide winter maintenance service on arterial,, major collector and minorcoUector roads only. Service to all other roadways will beaccomplished during normal workweek time periods. Accident or Emergency Senvice-Atthe request of the Public Works Law Enforcement Officer, the Office r -in -Cha rge, or the Sheriffs Office Supervisor directly orthrough the Multi Agency Communications Center(MACC), a partial crew will bedispatched by the Public Works Department at any time to the scene of an accident or emergency to facilitate safe traffic flow on a county road. PRETREATMENT Atthe discretion ofthe Road District Supervisor, Foreman orDesignee, roads may be pretreated prior 10anticipated snow and ice events. Pretreatment involves the application ofsalt brine orother de-icing solution one to two days before the anticipated event. Prioritization for pretreatment will be SNOW REMOVAL Based on the judgement of the Road District Supervisor, Foreman or Designee, snow removal on major collector and minor collector roads should begin when accumulation has reached a condition where it inhibits traffic flow or is starting to compact on paved roads. Based on the judgement of the Road District Supervisor,. Foreman or Designee snow removal on all other roads normally given snow and ice control should commence after an accumulation of snow which inhibits travel. Conditions such as wheel track buildup or drifting snow may warrant special consideration for variations in this policy as determined by the Road District Supervisor, Foreman or Designee. The Department will endeavor to have Priority 1 roads passable to traffic within twelve (12) hours; Priority 2 roads passable to traffic within (24) hours; and Priority 3 roads passable to traffic within 72 hours after an average or normal snowstorm subsides. However, in the event of a heavy or extended period of snowy weather, the County may require more time to make roads passable. Time to open roads to travel is always subject to unforeseeable conditions such as wind, drifting snow, and equipment breakdowns. The Road District Supervisor or Foreman will be in contact with area school districts on road conditions, snow removal process and to be informed of emergency school schedule changes due to weather conditions. The Road District Supervisor or Foreman shall make the decision to deploy snow removal equipment. Likewise, Road District Supervisor or Foreman may recall snow removal equipment because of adverse conditions which may endanger the employee's safety; or when the existing conditions are such that the efforts are no longer effective and risking the safety of the traveling public. They shall also be responsible for revising work schedules during the week and weekends to achieve the maximum amount of efficiency. Intersections that have restricted visibility due to snow piles will be cleared of the obstructions during normal work schedules and when weather conditions permit. Residents who remove snow from their driveways or sidewalks are reminded that State Law prohibits placing snow or ice on any public road or sidewalk in a manner that impedes vehicle or pedestrian traffic or makes it unsafe. No parking of vehicles is allowed within the County right of way. Vehicles which are found parked within the County right of way during snow plowing operations may be bermed in. It will be the responsibility of the vehicle driver to shovel the vehicle out. Law enforcement will be notified to tow the vehicle if the vehicle is creating a traffic hazard. SANDING OPERATION LEVEL OF SERVICE • Snow packed Major Arterials (Priority 1) will be continually sanded. • Controlled intersections, curves and hills will be sanded. • Sanding operations will generally commence between the hours of 5:00 and 6:00 AM. Weather conditions, (such as black ice or freezing rain), may dictate an earlier starting time. During these conditions, actual starting times will be determined by the Road District Supervisor. • Sanding on straight/flat segments of County lower priority roads will be done as determined by the Road District Supervisor or Foremen. Conditions to be considered would be long stretches of very slippery snowpack which may warrant an application of sand to provide a measure of intermittent skid resistance. • Sanding within low volume, slow speed subdivision roads, will be done only during icy conditions as determined by the Road District Supervisor or Foremen. Conditions to be considered would be very slippery snowpack which may warrant an application of sand to provide a measure of skid resistance. DAMAGES Mailboxes - The Public Works Department will replace a damaged mailbox only if the damaged mailbox was properly located and positioned within the Counties right of way and was physically struck by snow removal equipment. The County will evaluate each damaged mailbox on a case-by-case basis and will, upon its sole discretion, provide and install a standard mailbox with support. Driveways- The Public Works Department assumes no responsibility for the removal of snow deposited in driveways because of snow plowing. It is not practical to change the plow blade angle to avoid driveways. A snow berm may be deposited both during the initial plowing phase, and again during widening and mop up operations. Exact times cannot be provided on when individual roads will be plowed. Turf/Landscaping- Landscaping and lawns, including but not limited to; shrubs, trees, inanimate objects., etc. installed by a property owner within the county easement will be the responsibility of the owner and the owner assumes all risk of damage to such items. Furthermore, the County cannot reasonably control the drift or discharge of snow and/or shoulder materials from the snowplow into ditches and lawns and asphalt driveways. The County will not be responsible for the removal/repair of any shrubs, yard ornamentation,, and turf, landscaping, or fences, should materials be inadvertently cast into adjacent lawn areas by the plow. Stranded/Blocking Vehicles - Employees will try to assist the occupants of a stalled or stranded vehicle by contacting Grant County Public Works Office by radio. As a matter of common practice, County equipment should not be used to push or pull a privately - owned vehicle unless specifically authorized by the Director, Assistant Director, or County Engineer and/or his/her designee. County equipment can be used to move a vehicle that is creating a safety or traffic hazard to a point where the hazard is removed. Garbage cans shall be stored at least ten feet inside driveway from the roadway shoulder. The County will not be responsible for replacing garbage cans damaged during snow removal operations. Adopted this 1,,V day of BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS GRANT COUNTY, WASHINGTON Member