With the first snow of the season here on Thursday, the Van Buren County Road Commission has a few reminders for drivers. Managing Director Bret Witkowski tells us when it’s time for them to plow the roads, the crews follow a strategy.
“There’s 37 plow routes, I believe, and we try to keep the same people on the same route so they know the roads and subdivisions and quirks that every place has,” Witkowski said. “The main thing is, the first thing we’ll do is hit all the primary roads, which are the county roads, and then we get into the local system and subdivision once we get all the primaries taken off.”
So, Witkowski says if you’re on a less-travelled road come winter storm time, you may have to use some patience while the crews clear the primaries. The road commission prepares for the winter, buying materials months before the snow actually starts falling.
“We’re ready to go, although the plows are up and running. We didn’t do anything this morning because the roads are so warm and the air is so warm, but at some point, we’ll be out there ready to hit it.”
Witkowski says something to keep in mind this year is a new state law requiring drivers to keep 200 feet of distance between their vehicles and plows at work. He says 200 feet may sound like a lot, but it only takes seconds to plow into a plow that’s plowing.
The Van Buren County Road Commission has released the following:
Before Van Buren County is feet-deep in snow, the Road Commission is sharing how it responds to winter storms, and how its roads are maintained.
A Michigan snowstorm can last 24 hours or more, which means a lot of work may be required following a winter storm to completely open roads and widen all intersections. And then there’s the wind and drifting that can make driving conditions difficult following even a small event. That’s why here in Van Buren County, each winter snow event is treated as an individual occurrence due to the unique characteristics of each event (depth of snow, type of snow/slush/ice, temperature fluctuations, etc.).
Routine snow removal operations will begin on the affected areas of the County Primary Road network as a first priority. These roads include Red Arrow Highway, Blue Star Highway, and all roads with the “County Road (CR)” designation. These primary roads create a network of roads connecting to state highways, cities, and villages and primarily have the most traffic. By focusing here, we can provide the greatest impact to the traveling public.
Then, as a secondary priority, our crews work on the affected areas of the Local Road system (streets and avenues and within subdivisions).
Routine winter maintenance occurs within eight (8) hour days, Monday through Friday.
Non-routine winter maintenance occurs on weekends or overtime (hours beyond the normal eight-hour work day). These operations are performed as follows using minimum crew sizes to cover the affected areas:
A. In the event of a snowfall in excess of four (4″) inches, the most critical locations on selected County Primary Roads will be covered, as conditions permit.
B. Unusual ice and/or wind conditions causing hazardous driving, or impassable conditions on the affected areas of the road system, as conditions permit.
C. In the event of a snowfall in excess of eight (8″) inches, authorization shall be extended to cover the Local Road system of the affected area(s), as conditions permit.
As always, every effort within the physical and financial resources of the Road Commission shall be made to keep the roads in a safe and reasonable condition for public travel.
If you have questions on winter maintenance, please contact the Van Buren County Road Commission at (269) 674-8011, or via email at vbcrc@vbcrc.org.
