BY THE NUMBERS$139,799: Cost of snow cleanup so far, including salt, sand, brine and employee overtime79,200: Gallons of brine used1,872: Tons of salt and sand used978: Overtime hours so farSource: City of Chattanooga
Salt and sand trucks are moving into city neighborhoods and subdivisions after spending two days battling snow and ice on main roads.
“We’ve got about 13 different salt and sand trucks out,” said Tony Boyd, assistant director of citywide services for the Department of Public Works.
He said the Public Works Department also has five motor graders with blades out plowing the streets. Public Works officials said those have been converted for snow plowing.
The Public Works Department set up an operation center on 11th Street to deal with the road problems over the last three days. Boyd said temperatures in the 20s the past two nights meant the roads stayed frozen.
But they should be in better shape by today, he said.
“Hopefully, we’ll have a much better handle” on conditions by this morning, Boyd said.
That was good news to beleaguered residents who have had trouble navigating hazardous side streets.
“The main streets have been taken care of, and the side streets are terrible,” said Tyler Junion, who lives in St. Elmo on Sunnyside Avenue. “They’re good for sledding, though.”
Mary Jo Thrun, who lives in Ridge Creek subdivision, said she “just got out today for the first time,” since the snow storm because of the condition of side streets in her area.
“You couldn’t get anywhere until they salted it,” she said.
Chattanooga so far has spent about $140,000 on cleanup from the latest snowstorm, including overtime, salt, sand and brine. More than 1,800 tons of salt and sand have been spread on city streets.
That’s in addition to the estimated 1,000 tons of salt and sand used to deal with the Christmas Day storm that dumped 3 to 5 inches of snow on the area, and even more for a snowfall two weeks before that.
Those two snow events ate up nearly half of the city’s salt and sand supplies, but they have since been replenished.
Public Works officials said Wednesday they have enough to address current needs. Boyd said the city still had about 800 tons of salt. He said a delivery of more than 1,000 tons of sand came in over the last two days.
Richard Beeland, spokesman for Mayor Ron Littlefield, said he continues to stress patience as the city works on getting the roads open.
“Crews will continue to work in 12-hour shifts until roadways are passable and safe,” he said.
Steve Leach, administrator of Public Works, admitted that city officials were caught off guard by the snowstorm. He said they expected 3 to 4 inches, but instead saw more than 7 inches of snow.
“We knew the timing,” he said. “We didn’t know the amount.”
He said the city’s snow plan calls for critical roads, such as ones leading to hospitals, to be cleared first. The priorities then become medical emergencies and police and fire emergencies, city officials said.
Leach said the city has enough equipment to handle most snow events. This was fluke weather, he said, the heaviest snowfall since the blizzard of ’93 almost 18 years ago.
“Do you want to buy a lot of equipment and then have it sit around for years?” he asked.
Staff writer Kate Harrison contributed to this report.