The
Road Commission is responsible for 1042.74 miles of road. This
consists of 247.38 miles of Primary Roads, 587.36 miles of Local Roads,
and 208 lane miles of State Trunklines or Highways. Snow removal
is done on a priority system. State Highways have the highest
priority. We are obligated to stay on most of these Highways
until
they are clear of snow. Many of our Primary Roads are tended to
at
the same time we are plowing State Highways. When the State
Highways and Primary Roads are clear, we move to the Local Roads and Subdivisions, also
known as "side streets." We strive to have all roads plowed, at
least with a single pass, on the first day. This is not always
possible due to unforeseen circumstances, such as continuing snowfall,
equipment breakdowns, or employee illness.
Ogemaw
receives, on the average, 62 inches of snow in a winter. This
snow compounded by the drifting that we get, makes a job out of keeping
roads open all winter. We have 18 men assigned to snowplow
routes. Generally we don't like to work the day shift over
eight to ten hours as it is more dangerous plowing at night and we want
them rested for the next morning. However, they sometimes work seven
days a week and up to 16 hours a day during the winter.
The main roads (I-75, M-55, M-33, M-30) are plowed first and then the
men go on their
routes. Within each route the primary routes are plowed first.
Unfortunately, someone must be first and someone must be last and
depending on where you live, it may be late in the day before your road
is plowed. If the man on your route gets stuck or has a breakdown it
may be later than usual. After a storm we try to open a narrow path
down all roads the first day and widen them out the second day. If
another storm hits the second day we start over and it could be several
days before all the roads are widened out. We get in a lot of trouble
when widening these roads because it tends to fill driveways. Contrary
to popular opinion, we can not lift the plow at driveways, swerve away
from driveways or put all the snow across the road from driveways. The
worst case is when you are unable to plow or snow blow your own drive
and our truck fills it just after your plow man has left. You may even
have more of a problem than your neighbor depending on how the snow
drifts by your driveway.
I don't know how our drivers are able
to plow so close to mailboxes day after day and rarely hit one. If we
do, physically, hit one we will replace it with a standard size
mailbox, not a fancy one.
If the snow coming off the plow knocks your mailbox off you are liable
for that. Please do not put your garbage on the shoulder of the road in
the winter, we probably will hit it and you will have a mess. We cannot
plow any private roads or driveways. We are not allowed to spend public
money on private roads or driveways. The law does allow Road
Commissions in the Upper Peninsula to plow drives but not here.
We
do not necessarily plow all County roads. Some are seasonal roads, too narrow, too
steep or don't have a place to turn around. The school buses pretty
much will only go on plowed county roads so check with us before you
buy or build a house if you are not sure. We also don't plow roads that
no one lives on, that wastes money.
County trucks when working
on the road are exempt from the motor vehicle code. This allows them to
back up in the roads, plow intersections, drive on the shoulder, etc.
When our trucks are loaded full of snow it is sometimes hard for them
to see a little car. For this reason, you should try to stay clear of
County trucks as they may not do what you expect. Also, our trucks are
not capable of plowing at 70 MPH as we are sometimes accused, more like
35 - 40 MPH. With all the snow flying it appears the truck is going
faster. It is important for them to go relatively fast to get the snow
thrown back far enough so a high bank doesn't form. We have to push
back high banks with a grader and wing and that is real time consuming.
Did
you know, that it is against the law to push
snow across the road? It is dangerous to the motoring public and
could cause an accident. Or it could possibly damage our
equipment or cause one of our drivers to have an accident as
well. The Michigan
Vehicle Code states that the "obstruction of safety vision by
removal or deposit of snow, ice, or slush prohibited."
One
last thing, if you have an emergency and need to get plowed out in a
hurry, call the Sheriff's Department or the State Police. They will get
in contact with us and get you out.
Myths Reality Check - Roads & Salt Usage