HOW DOES THE PUBLIC WORKS they are out clearing City streets. Their Lastly, cul-de-sacs, alleys, and dead DEPARTMENT MANAGE PLOWING teamwork and experience lead to roads ends are plowed. These level 3 roads being cleared faster while minimizing have the least amount of impact on RESOURCES? South Jordan City is split into five zones for crews to plow and has 11 large trucks and 25 light-duty trucks. Based on temperatures, timing, intensity, and forecasted storm duration, the department decides which materials (pre-wet brine application, liquid calcium chloride, standard salt, or red salt) will be used as well as the timing of plow trucks rolling out to hit the roads. All plow trucks are equipped with GPS, allowing supervisors to monitor plowing efforts in real time. This data allows for decisions to be made for shifting resources from one area of the City to another, with the goal of clearing streets as quickly and safely as possible. Last and most importantly, we have committed staff that train, work hard, and communicate with each other as
materials and labor costs.
traffic of any city roads.
HOW DOES THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT DECIDE WHICH ROADS TO PLOW FIRST?
HOW DOES SOUTH JORDAN COMPARE TO OTHER CITIES WHEN IT COMES TO PLOWING RESPONSE AND COVERAGE?
A big picture perspective on prioritization includes deciding which roads, if cleared first, will have the greatest positive impact on traffic moving through the City in a safe and timely manner. Typically, the roads that are most impactful to traffic patterns are the ones with highest volume of traffic. Other first priority roads include hills that would be difficult to start and stop on if snow packed or iced over. Next on the priority list are residential streets and school and ADA routes. These are drive-through roads used to get in and out of neighborhoods.
Cities in Utah, including South Jordan, generally provide a high level of service when it comes to snow plowing. A survey of cities in the West that have similar climates and snow fall to the Wasatch Front show plowing response only after 6” to 12” of snow has fallen. This depends on the city, with some only responding to neighborhood roads after a significant amount of snow has accumulated. South Jordan’s level of service is considerably higher. Crews respond after 1”-3” of snow has fallen and continue operations until all City roads have been plowed.