At a work session of the Archuleta County Board of County Commissioners held earlier this year, Public Works Director Ken Feyen outlined a few changes for this winter.
In addition to having plows on additional equipment this year, Feyen explained that the county has new plow routes and, when a storm is forecasted, equipment will be prepositioned to allow operators to begin plow operations sooner.
Too, the county has issued information related to its snow-removal operations, which follows.
According to the press release, the Archuleta County Road and Bridge Department plows approximately 340 miles of roads.
County roads are categorized on a priority basis and the roads with higher priorities are plowed first, such as school bus routes. Remaining roads are plowed based on priority and route efficiencies.
Snow-removal crews normally begin clearing roads at 2 a.m., but crews may not clear lower-priority roads the day of the storm.
Hills are sanded for safety as required.
“Unfortunately,” the press release notes, “each operation may result in a berm of snow across private driveways or encroachments to county roads. The County does not have the resources to keep driveways clear or remove berms in front of driveways. This is the responsibility of each individual resident or business. Reasonable effort is made to plow in a manner that will minimize the snow that is left.”
Property owners who create hazards in a public right of way, such as plowing snow off private drives, piling construction materials or timber, or placing trash carts, may be subject to prosecution per state statute.
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