Getting There: Spokane County prepared for winter maintenance on largest county road system in the state

A Spokane County commissioner once told this newspaper that the vast majority of the calls they receive from constituents have something to do with local roadways.

In the spring and summer, it’s usually potholes, public dumping and frustrations over ongoing construction projects. The calls throughout the rest of the year tend to focus on the sometimes contentious topic of snow removal.

To preempt those queries, Spokane County Public Works and the county commissioners held their annual news conference on the snow response plan this winter for the largest county road system in the state, measuring more than 5,100 lane miles.

Spokane County Commissioner Josh Kerns said this year’s snow removal budget totals $4.5 million, which includes the cost of operating a fleet of equipment, new grader chains and blades and a stockpile of sand and deicer. The fleet includes 38 snowplows and sanding trucks, 34 graders and four deicing trucks.

After a storm, the county works to clear the busiest routes first. Once those are plowed, the focus shifts to secondary arterials. After that, the plows head to residential roads. Residents can monitor snow plow progress live on the county website during and after storms.

In the event of back -to -back storms, the process starts over, with crews prioritizing the busiest routes first, Kerns said.

“Really, the goal is to make sure we keep the roads cleared where the most amount of cars are so we keep as many folks safe on the road as possible,” Kerns said. “This means that it could take longer than usual to clear those 5,100 lane miles, if we continue to see those back -to -back storms.”

Relatively new to the arsenal are some two dozen snow gates designed and built by Public Works employees, and around 480 Sharq blades – compressed steel plates with sharp teeth designed to break up compact ice and snow.

Kerns said when he was first elected to the board in 2016, his father quickly began asking when the county would start using snow gates, hydraulic attachments to the end of a grader’s or plow’s blade that can lower to prevent snow berms from forming in front of intersections and driveways. The city of Spokane implemented the gates for their fleet just a few years prior.

At first, former Spokane County CEO Gerry Gemmill was opposed to the idea, Kerns said. Gemmill, who started with the county as a snow plow driver in the ’70s, told Kerns he’s seen first-hand the gates didn’t work.

“I said, ‘I’m sure there has been some technological advances in gates since the ’70s,’ ” Kerns said, recalling the back and forth.

The commissioner then turned to Spokane Public Works Director and current county CEO Scott Simmons to look into Gemmill’s concerns that the gates “can’t carry the snow load,” or that they “go up at an angle, so you’re gonna clip mailboxes.” After Simmons’ reassurance to the contrary, the county launched a pilot program with just two gates.

Now the county owns more than two dozen, much to the benefit of homeowners once trapped in their driveway by snow berms each winter. Kerns said county employees designed and built the vast majority of them for half of what it would have cost to purchase them.

“Now it’s a regular part of the fleet, and we’re designing them in house and saving money on them,” Kerns said.

While the gates can help plow and grader operators keep driveways clear, Kerns said homeowners can do their part by placing reflective markers to mark the location.

Public Works Director Kyle Twohig said county residents should also stay 50 feet away, and that drivers should never try to pass a plow on the right. He recommended drivers keep an emergency kit on hand, complete with medical supplies, traction sand, blankets, flashlights, a shovel, and food and water.

When clearing snow around one’s property, Twohig said residents should avoid pushing or blowing snow into the roadway.

“You can really create a hazard for a passing motorist, and then in cold temperatures, that snow can freeze solid and make it very difficult and dangerous,” Twohig said.

Residents can reach out to Spokane County Public Works, or visit the county’s website, if they have questions or concerns about the county’s snow response this winter, he added.