INDIANAPOLIS —The Indianapolis Department of Public Works is hoping to have all of the residential connector roads scheduled for snow removal done by 7:00 p.m. on Wednesday. That schedule does not include around 3,000 miles of city streets.
That is the deadline given to contractors who have been hired to help city crews clean up after Monday’s snowstorm.
Leaders with DPW said the past few days have been challenging for several reasons. In addition to this being one of the biggest snowstorms in years, they are also starting to experience issues with some of their trucks and plows due to how much they have been used this month.
In fact, crews have been working so much, the city has already exhausted its overtime budget for snow removal in 2021.
Many people who live on side or residential streets may never see a city plow come by, and that is because DPW leaders say they just don’t have the budget or equipment to cover every mile of city roads.
Around 3,000 miles of city roads will not be touched by crews.
"We have a total of 107 trucks in our fleet. 8,444 lane miles... the necessary amount of equipment to take care of that for, this is the first event of this size in 10 years, it is sort of like building a church for Easter Sunday mass versus your regular attendance you know. That is just a sheer amount of equipment that wouldn't be possible with the budget we have,” Dan Parker, director of the Indianapolis Department of Public Works, said.
On Wednesday night, crews will shift their focus from snow removal to road treatment as they prepare for the potential of more freezing, creating slick and icy roads.
“With the temperatures and moisture out there, they will be doing a lot of dropping material on the bare pavement as the sun has melted some of that snow. We need to make sure they have material out on all the major thoroughfares and bridges tonight,” Parker said.
