Winter Hazard Awareness Week and 2016-2017 Snow Emergency Information

It’s winter hazard awareness week, and we may see snow in parts of the area on Friday. Before then, here is information about the county’s snow and ice removal efforts and what you can do to stay safe on winter roads.

The county's role is to plow its roads

There are 66 plow routes, with crews coming out of five stations across the county. These routes help us cover the more than 2,200 lane miles of county roads.

The first shift may start as early as 2 a.m. What we do varies based on the weather. In some cases, we may apply anti-icing chemicals. If the snow is coming down and sticking to the pavement, the goal is to make all travel lanes passable before traffic gets heavy with the morning commute.

Keep in mind that traffic affects snow plowing operations. That's one of the reasons why we start so early. Plowing and clean up take longer when traffic is congested. And, the number of vehicles on the road can affect the length of time it takes for roads to get clear of snow and ice.

Drivers have a role, too

Be cautious when driving in winter weather. Here are a few tips to keep in mind:
• Plan ahead for snow days – give yourself extra time
• Know the road – when weather is good, learn where the road curves, how many turn lanes there are and other qualities of the road
• Be patient – slow down and give plows room to work
• Never use cruise control or get distracted in your driving –  keep your eyes on the road, as well as hands and feet ready to respond

Remember, just because a road is plowed, it doesn’t mean it is OK to speed up. The de-icing materials crews are spreading as they plow need time to do their work.

SNOW EMERGENCY! You know it's inevitable, so you might as well get familiar with the drill... If you didn't receive the 2016-2017 Minneapolis Snow Emergency Brochure in the mail, you can find snow emergency information online. And, here's a helpful video: