Columbia prepares for winter with annual snowplow training exercise
Haley Swaino
COLUMBIA, Mo. (KMIZ)
Despite no flurries in Wednesday’s forecast, Columbia residents might have seen snowplow trucks traveling across the city.
Columbia’s Public Works Department held its annual Dry Snow Run training exercise on Wednesday to prepare for the upcoming winter season.
This winter, the department will add five new snow-capable trucks to its fleet to improve reliability and efficiency.
Public Works engineering and operations manager Richard Stone, who is in charge of snow response on city streets, told ABC 17 News in October that the department has about 30 vehicles that it uses for regular snow maintenance.
He said the new trucks will replace aging snow removal equipment. Two are expected to arrive in November and three in January.
The dry snow run began at the Grissum Building on Lakeview Avenue around 10 a.m., with snowplow drivers and staff from multiple city departments reviewing safety procedures and practicing designated snow routes.
Stone said it’s also an opportunity to get new drivers behind the wheel alongside more experienced drivers for training.
“We do have some some newer drivers, so we try to pair those up with veteran drivers, give them a chance to look at the equipment, understand the operations of the equipment,” Stone said. “We’ll also do some some individual training sessions with those drivers beyond the dry snow run.”
The exercise helps every driver familiarize themselves with routes, identify new traffic patterns or construction zones, and ensure equipment is ready before the first snowfall.
“[Drivers] look for medians, speed humps, anything that could provide difficulty during winter weather, get used to the intersections that are there,” Stone said. “Also, take a look at some of the cul-de-sacs, try to figure out where you would put snow within a cul-de-sac, because there’s generally driveways, mailboxes, inlets that you have to avoid. And then there could be parked car.”
Columbia’s Street Division maintains about 1,465 lane miles of roads and 1,100 cul-de-sacs each winter, with priority routes covering more than 691 lane miles.
When snowfall is less than 4 inches, crews focus on clearing priority routes and may address neighborhood streets during regular business hours if conditions allow. When snowfall exceeds 4 inches, crews operate around the clock to restore near-normal conditions on major roads before moving into residential areas. The city deems streets passable when a front-wheel-drive vehicle can safely travel one lane below the posted speed limit.
For more information on Columbia’s snow operations and response priorities, visit CoMoSnow.com.