Clearing the streets during snowstorms

By: 
Patrick Fisher, The New Prague Times

Jeff Steinhoff drives his route for snowplowing in the city of New Prague. He began plowing at 6 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 20, and was taking care of the streets in the housing additions of Homefield and Raven Stream, Scott County Road 37, Columbus Avenue and 10th Avenue SE. Steinhoff has been with the city for 13 years. (Patrick Fisher Photo)

Wednesday, Feb. 20, began with heavy snow that lasted through most of the day. For New Prague city employees like Jeff Steinhoff he was already out working at 6 a.m. making sure residents had clear streets.

February 20 was a day of heavy snowfall as New Prague and the surrounding communities had between 8-12 inches of snow gather.

“This is nontypical,” said Steinhoff about the February storm. “We don’t have this much snow usually.”

Steinhoff has been working for the city for 13 years. “It can be long,” he said of days like February 20. He detailed that with storms like the one on Wednesday their first rule is to make sure streets are passable. “We typically work to keep the streets open until we can clean them up at the end.”

Steinhoff’s route included the streets in the housing additions of Homefield and Raven Stream, Scott County Road 37, 10th Avenue SE and Columbus Avenue.

For Steinhoff and other city employees who drive snowplows there are factors they have to work with when snowplowing. Among them are what type of storm they have to deal with, traffic and mailboxes. “Hopefully a garbage route isn’t on your route,” he said. Some time later he turned onto a street in Raven Stream housing addition where garbage bins lined the street. Steinhoff worked to avoid the garbage bins, passing homeowners who were plowing out their driveways or children playing in the snow, who look up to watch Steinhoff pass.

Steinhoff noted that when the snow is thick and heavy it makes it harder to push it off to the road side. “It depends on the snow, and if it’s icy underneath it. We have to get it (the snow) off before traffic packs it down,” he said. Steinhoff’s truck also could spread a mixture of salt and other chemicals behind it to help clear the streets.

It’s not just the clearing of the streets that Steinhoff helps with. “There were some people who had....

To see more on this story pick up the February 28, 2019 print edition of The New Prague Times. 

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