Snow plows are a common sight during a storm, but not everyone is aware of all the work that goes on to make sure you can get to and from your destination safely.
I had the chance to tag along with long-time city plow operator Rheal Breau during our most recent storm on Feb. 2 and discovered there is much more to the job than I imagined.
You will be pleased to know that the city did not let me behind the wheel – for obvious reasons – but Rheal gave me a good idea of what it is like.
The work for Rheal and his colleagues begins well before the first snowflake ever arrives. They need to make sure their trucks and other vehicles are in tip-top shape.
“We just make sure that we have all our gears up, make sure we have good cutting-edge bolts and tires and our fluids are topped so we don’t have to stop during a storm,” he said.
Prior to winter storms, city crews often apply a liquid anti-icing brine to the roadway, with a focus on higher-priority routes. As the liquid brine dries, it crystalizes on the road surface. The moisture from a storm reactivates the brine.
Rheal says this helps keep snow and ice from sticking to the pavement surface and gives them a little leeway once a storm begins.
Things really kick into gear once the precipitation begins as crews work to keep streets as clear as possible for drivers.
Rheal Breau is a long-time snow plow operator with the City of Saint John. (Image submitted)
Rheal says city streets are broken down into four priority levels. During a storm, crews will focus on priority one and two streets, and move to priority three and four streets if they can.
“The higher priority routes would be the main routes for fire trucks and ambulances and buses, they’re all priority ones. If you go into a subdivision or a dead end, that’s going to a four or a three priority,” he said.
Once a storm ends, the city aims to have priority one and two streets completely passable within eight hours, and priority three and four streets within 12 hours.
Those service level targets remain the same this winter, even with fewer pieces of equipment on the road due to city budget reductions.
Staff re-designed the street plowing routes to re-balance resources between day and night shifts. That means more equipment on the road overnight but less during the day for both the morning and afternoon rush hours.
City staff anticipate the change will balance out and do not expect any negative impacts to snow clearing operations overall.
Once the storm is over, crews work to push the snow back as far as possible – and that often involves temporary overnight parking bans to make it happen. Rheal says these bans benefit both plow operators and the general public.
“It helps that we can get the snow pushed back further to the curb so they don’t have to shovel, and then if it freezes all of those banks won’t be froze out in the middle of the road,” he said.
As I saw during the ride-along, Rheal’s job involves A lot of multi-tasking. There are countless switches, buttons and levers next to him which allow him to control the plow and how much salt he is putting on the road, among other things.
If that is not enough, he is also on high-alert for other vehicles and pedestrians, which can be a lot harder to see at the height of a storm.
Rheal has a few tips to help make his job easier and to keep you safe on the road.
“Be aware of the plows, we can’t stop as easy as maybe a car. Watch out for your big windrows you don’t get stuck in it. Take your route accordingly,” he said.
And if you can, try to stay home during a storm to give crews more room to make the roads safe for you.
I had the chance to ride along with @cityofsaintjohn snow plow operator Rheal Breau today to see just how they get the job done during a winter storm.
Tune in to @country94chsj at 6:40 a.m. tomorrow to learn more and to hear part of my chat with Rheal. pic.twitter.com/2WHrilKZO5
— Brad Perry (@BradMPerry) February 2, 2021
Follow
