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Athens Road Crews Get Head Start on Slick Streets
By: Alicia Warren
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ATHENS, Ohio — Athens county was covered in a frosty blanket of snow around 7 a.m. Monday morning prompting a level-two snow alert, school closures and delays throughout the area.
One Ohio University professor Julie Suhr said she regretted her decision to take on the snowy roads to get to work. She arrived on campus at 7:30 a.m.
“I had a little adventure with going sideways for a moment, but going two mph that’s kind of acceptable,” she said.
Other drivers said they also had problems on their morning commute, traveling at 10 mph to keep their vehicles out of the ditch.
Athens Road Crews Prepared
Aside from the conditions on the highway, the roads in Athens also raised concerns for drivers. Because of the lack of snowfall so far this year, some were worried the city did not have enough salt to tackle the slippery streets. Some questioned whether the roads and walkways would be clear for the day ahead. But workers from Athens City Public Works and Ohio Department of Transportation had begun treating the roads long before the morning commute.
“A lot of what we do is pre-planned and procedure,” said Andrew Daugherty, Assistant Director for the Athens City Public Works. He said that his staff continually check weather conditions to get a head start on the roads. Daugherty said their work day consists of first clearing high-traffic routes, then they move on to less-traveled roads.
Daugherty explained that the city has more than enough salt in storage to clear the roads and for future snow storms.
But with the amount of snow on the ground on Monday, some said there seemed to be a lack of plow trucks, but Daugherty said there simply wasn’t enough snow to send plows out. He said when accumulation is three inches or less, the city uses salt to clear the roads. More than that will require the city to use snowplows.
By noon, the roads and sidewalks in Athens were mostly clear of snow. One OU student said she didn’t experience any difficulty on her way to class and was surprised by how fast Athens cleared the streets.
