February 7, 2024 |
Photo – City of Rawlins snowplow – Bigfoot99 file photo
In Rawlins, when the snow falls, city crews have a plan for which roads will be cleared first.
The Rawlins city website says that snow is an inevitable part of living in Wyoming. However, no matter how inevitable, the number and severity of storms varies year to year.
When snow falls, the city consults its long-standing snow plowing and emergency routes plan. Public Works Director Cody Dill said the snow removal plan dictates which roads are plowed first.
Dill said during a snowstorm, city plow crews focus on clearing priority one streets: Spruce, Cedar, and West Elm Streets, and the downtown area. Dill said side streets are plowed after crews open all priority one roads, whenever that may be.
The public works director said his goal is to have all the city’s streets plowed as quickly as possible.
Rawlins Community Relations Manager Mira Miller said unplowed roads won’t stop emergency crews from reaching residents living on lower priority streets. Miller said the city will send a plow truck to clear the way for an ambulance.
Last winter’s excessive snowfall prompted Public Works Director Dill to create a Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan for severe snowstorms. Dill said when the city receives six inches of snow or more within 24 hours, the emergency management plan is used to coordinate plow crews and disseminate information about the state of the city’s roads.
Dill asked residents to move their vehicles off the roads in the event of a major snowstorm to leave room for plows to clear the streets.
For more information about the Rawlins snow plowing and emergency routes plan, visit the Rawlins city website at https://www.rawlinswy.gov/ or call Community Relations Manager Mira Miller at 328-4500 extension 1022.
