County snow plows hard at work
By Molly Moser
Heavy, blowing snow, ice, and sleet characterize a Midwestern winter and inspire many to spend the season elsewhere. For those who endure it here at home, the Clayton County Secondary Roads department keeps car travel as safe as possible by maintaining 1,050 miles of roadway – a daunting task during a snowstorm.
Since 1993, there have been 13 documented deaths and 25 injuries resulting from winter storms in Iowa. According to the National Weather Service out of LaCrosse, Wis., major winter storms in January 1996, February 2008, and December 2009 each dropped over 10 inches of snow in Guttenberg with strong winds causing blowing and drifting. In the winter of 2010-11, over 68 inches of snow fell on the county. The 30-year average seasonal snowfall at Elkader is 37.1 inches.
The winter of 2016-17 has been far milder than the extremes of years past. Local weather spotter Rod McLane reported 3.55 inches of rain since November and 15 inches of snowfall. Average rainfall November through January is 5.39 inches, while average snowfall is 25 inches.
“It has been an expensive year so far for plowing snow. Hopefully we get some drier weather,” said County Engineer Rafe Koopman. “Our budget should be ok. We generally plan for worst and hope for the best.”
Koopman began working for the county in 2003 as assistant county engineer and was promoted in 2004. In that time, he says, county employees have taken care of all winter maintenance. “We have 12 motor graders and 17 plow trucks that have specific routes they plow. We have three people that work in the shop and few other employees that can fill in if someone is sick or on vacation,” said Koopman. “I have a great group of employees and we all want to do the best we can.” When county workers are not plowing snow or repairing the snowplows, they cut trees and brush in the right-of-way.
On rural roads, ditches often have the capacity to hold snow plowed off roadways. In locations where snow tends to accumulate, ditches get full so snow is either moved down the road or blown into adjacent fields.
Maintaining 200 miles of paved road and 850 miles of gravel roads in the county is a monumental task that requires much logistical planning. “On the long days the motor graders will need more fuel. Some of the operators can plan their routes so they can go by the shop again and refuel. For other routes, our foremen will bring additional fuel out,” Koopman explained. “Some roads may get just one pass on the first day because it’s not efficient to go back down. Other roads, such as dead ends, may get cleaned better because it is not efficient to come back.”
“A friendly reminder to help keep the roads safe for all users is to remember to not leave snow in the road when cleaning your driveways, and if you do need to push the snow in the road ditch, put it on the downstream side of your driveway so we don’t carry it right back in your driveway,” Koopman advised. “All the people of Clayton County are great to work for and they do a great job of making our job as easy as it can be.”
