Municipalities preparing for whatever winter will bring

In her first year with the Oswego Public Works Department, Oswego Public Works Director/Village Engineer Jennifer Hughes and her staff worked to keep the village’s streets clear of snow in a season that saw more than 80 inches of snow.

That was the winter of 2013-2014. Thankfully, Hughes – who is about to retire – has also seen her fair share of mild winters in her time with the department.

But Hughes and her department know that you have to be prepared for anything to happen during any season. The department monitors pavement temperatures around the village to determine the proper response to a snowfall.

If the snow is falling on a warmer pavement, it is more likely to melt.

“It’s not just the air temperature, it’s what happens when the snow hits the ground,” Hughes said. “Every storm hits us differently. And whether it starts out as rain and goes to snow, goes to snow directly or it becomes ice, we’re looking at all of that in formulating our response. Because we’ve got to get it right.”

The department has a new truck it will use to help salt the roads this winter season as well as for plowing operations. But the truck can be used in various ways throughout the year, such as for leaf collection.

“It gives us more versatility for what we do,” Oswego Assistant Director of Public Works Operations Brian Evans said.

He noted the truck also has a camera that comes in handy when the department is using it as part of its snow operations.

“With a truck this big, it’s really hard to know when it’s empty because there’s so much weight to it,” Evans said. “Inside the cab, there’s a camera so you can see how much salt you have. There’s also another camera out the back so you can see your spread pattern as well so you know how far your salt is going and whether it’s dropping right where you want it or if it’s going too far.”

Hughes knows the effectiveness of pretreating roads with a liquid mixture of salt brine, calcium chloride and an agricultural product (typically beet juice) to reduce the amount of snow and ice from sticking to the pavement.

“We can put down the liquids well before a storm,” Hughes said.

Oswego has established a priority plowing system for its more than 330 miles of roadway so that the main traffic routes and collector roads are cleared first. Crews then address neighborhood streets.

The village contracts with private companies for culs-de-sac.

In the city of Yorkville’s snow plan, crews first tackle removing snow and ice from main arteries and roadways followed by secondary streets such as those in subdivisions. After that, they will work on culs-de-sac, alleys, sidewalks and parking lots.

In cases of heavy snowfall, when culs-de-sac are plowed, culs-de-sac will be plowed on a one-lane, one-pass basis until more heavily traveled streets have been cleared and remain clear.

Plano Streets Superintendent Karl Tisberger said his department has been making sure that the department’s equipment is fully up to par as it prepares for the winter season.

“In the fall, we like to get all the trucks and everything serviced and in tip-top shape for the upcoming season,” he said. “We also want to make sure we’re well equipped with salt and have everything lined up to keep ourselves stocked.”

The department also has been trying to remind residents about potential hazards for a snow plow driver, such as cars parked in a street or landscape materials that are placed to close to a curb. By city ordinance, parking on the street is prohibited when snowfall is two inches or more.

Those who don’t follow the rules face being ticketed and/or having their vehicles towed.

“Number one, it’s about public safety,” Tisberger said. “We want everybody to be able to get to work and school safely and we want our guys to be safe while making the roads safe.”

Tisberger said his department is ready for whatever winter may bring.

“You’ve always got to be ready for whatever may come,” he said.

For the 2024-2025 winter, DeKalb County has a $307,481 contract for 4,025 tons of bulk rock salt. The county has started the season with 5,500 tons of salt at the DeKalb County Highway maintenance yards in DeKalb and Waterman, DeKalb County Engineer Nathan Schwartz said.

Now that the first snowfall has officially arrived in DeKalb County, Schwartz said travelers ought to rethink the time their routes could take and stay aware of road conditions.

“Whenever there is a chance of winter weather it’s always good to be a little bit more conservative, take a little bit more time getting to work, leave early,” Schwartz said. “Be aware that road conditions may change as you turn around a corner, especially when it’s windy. There might be patchy areas in some areas but not other areas.”

Reporter Camden Lazenby added to this story.