While snow falls, a large loader prepares to fill another truck at the city yard in this Feb. 11 photograph.Snow removal costs:Chattanooga:Salt, sand and brine: $317,225Labor: $120,833Equipment: $157,542Total: $595,600Hamilton County:Salt, sand and brine: $112,500Equipment: $39,560Labor: $62,600Total: $214,660Source: City and county government
An inch of snow this winter that paralyzed streets and highways, stranded some children at school and sent vehicles skidding off roads cost Chattanooga and Hamilton County taxpayers nearly $370,000 to clear.
Officials had little advance warning of the sudden storm. The fleet of public works trucks didn’t hit the streets until snow already had begun to fall in thick flakes.
Local figures show it took 2,195 hours of overtime within Chattanooga’s city limits alone to spread enough salt and sand on the roads to make them navigable again. Meanwhile, there were scores of wrecks, including four sheriff’s patrol vehicles and eight school buses stranded or involved in minor collisions.
Two weeks later, when the clouds dumped more than 7 inches of powdery flakes, city trucks sprayed 50,000 gallons of brine on key city streets 24 hours before any icy precipitation hit the ground. Result: many fewer traffic snarls.