Wondering about your snow-covered street? Here’s how ACHD prioritizes, plans plowing
There certainly wasn’t any snow on the ground at the time, but Ada County Highway District plow operators were out driving on county roads in July.
Months of preparation came to fruition this month when the first large snowfall arrived and the district’s fleet of 44 plows and 153 team members was called into action.
Things don’t look to be slowing down over the holidays for ACHD’s workers, who maintain most public roads throughout the county, even in Boise and other cities. Several inches of snow have fallen in Ada County in recent days, and 2-4 inches in the forecast for the Treasure Valley area had plows on the road at 3:30 a.m. Wednesday.
The string of snowstorms passing through the area as winter begins has yet to bring fears of a repeat of 2016-17’s “Snowpocalypse,” which dumped 39.1 inches of snow on Boise. But being only five years removed from that winter, which saw ACHD struggle to keep on top of the constant barrage of snow, the district has been hard at work to avoid another bad situation.
“Post ‘Snowpocalypse’ we added additional plow units to the fleet to ensure each route has a plow available to clear the roadways,” ACHD spokesperson Jennifer Berenger told the Idaho Statesman. “We also increased our material capacity, having enough material on hand to handle major weather events.”
2021-22 Boise winter outlook
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United States is in store for a second straight La Niña winter, which will see colder and wetter conditions than normal in the northern part of the country.
NOAA is predicting Ada County to have a 33-40% wetter winter than normal — a normal winter, according to historical data from the National Weather Service, sees Boise and surrounding areas receive 3.78 inches of “liquid precipitation,” which translates to roughly 19 inches of snow.
A 33-40% increase would see Boise receive approximately 5.1 inches of liquid precipitation, which could translate to as much as 26 inches of snow for the season.
The other major factor is whether Ada County will be cold enough for precipitation to fall as snow. Boise averages a winter temperature of 32.8 degrees, putting it right at freezing and the sweet spot for snow. The Snowpocalypse winter saw Boise’s average dip to 27.5 degrees.
NOAA predicts an equal chance for above- and below-average temperatures for Ada County, providing uncertainty as to whether precipitation will mostly fall as rain or snow.
How does ACHD respond to winter weather?
ACHD breaks the county into a number of zones, with plow operators being assigned to a specific zone. This is done so that in the event of winter weather, an operator knows not only exactly where to go, but also how best to plow their zone — after months of rehearsal.
“Our crews start prepping for winter operations way back in July and August,” ACHD communications officer Shandy Lam said. “So that’s when they start learning their routes, and getting all the practice they need under their belt to be really comfortable with winter operations.”
Before a predicted storm arrives, plows will be out on roads laying down anti-icing agents such as salt or liquid magnesium chloride, which prevents a bond between the roads and snow. ACHD specifically targets the busiest roadways and intersections first for plowing, Lam said, along with roads with a particularly steep grade that could prove dangerous.
The district also targets routes to hospitals and school zones as priorities.
Then, finally, the plows will reach residential neighborhoods.
After the winter of 2016-17, ACHD has incorporated its no-cost snow removal permit to help offset the amount of time it can take to reach residential roads.
“Since … residential neighborhoods are a lower priority for us, we’ve given the opportunity for residential neighborhoods to be able to bring in private companies if they would like a plow or would like road treatment,” Lam said.
The permit allows neighborhood and homeowners associations to hire an independent contractor to plow and provide road treatment to a specific area. The association hiring the contractor must request that permit from ACHD, at no cost.
“Our crews are committed to the safety of the community at all hours of the night,” Lam said. “… We also ask for the commitment from the community as far as just being really cautious and responsible drivers as well.
“From what we’ve seen so far, residents have been really great about that. So we’d love to thank them and just have them keep all of that up so we can all get where we need to be safely.”
This story was originally published December 30, 2021 at 4:00 AM.
