Street workers ready for the snowy weather

January 7, 2015 at 5:00 a.m.

by Brandon Howard [email protected]

Brandon Howard/The Weekly Vista A fleet of four Kenworth T370s sit in a garage at the Street Department on Dec. 31. There are 14 trucks in total at the department’s disposal — six light trucks and eight heavy trucks. If a winter snow storm blankets the city, Street Department officials said they’ll use these trucks to plow the more than 500 miles of city streets.
Brandon Howard/The Weekly Vista A fleet of four Kenworth T370s sit in a garage at the Street Department on Dec. 31. There are 14 trucks in total at the department’s disposal — six light trucks and eight heavy trucks. If a winter snow storm blankets the city, Street Department officials said they’ll use these trucks to plow the more than 500 miles of city streets.

They operate for most of the year as the Bella Vista Street Department, but come winter, they're the Bella Vista Road Warriors.

Street Department Superintendent Mike Button and his team are tasked with the daunting job of keeping Bella Vista's roadways clear during harsh winter weather. And so far, they've been fairly lucky regarding bad winter weather.

Each winter the City of Bella Vista compiles a list of residents who have priority medical conditions requiring chemotherapy, radiation, dialysis treatments or home hospice care.

To sign up, visit www.cityofbellavist… and click on the link “medical priority snow removal request.” It’s in a box at the top-right of the page.

Print the form, fill it out and mail or return it to City Hall at 101 Town Center.

Mailing address is City of Bella Vista P.O. Box 5655 (101 Town Center) Bella Vista, AR 72714

Call City Hall from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday at 479-876-1255.

"We've got snow routes assigned to employees, priority routes we know we need to cover and we'll work our routes until they're done," he said. "We've got our trucks prepped for snow and the equipment is ready to go. Our people are on standby."

Crews usually head first to the major thoroughfares in the city, tackling Trafalgar Road, Kingsland Road and Glasgow Road before heading into the residential streets, Button said.

"We want to knock them out because they're the main flow of traffic," Button added. "They bring everyone to their homes so that's what you want to concentrate on."

Snow-removal operations include plowing snow off of roadways, pre-treating streets and laying down salt and sand to provide drivers with traction. The primary goal is to keep the roads from turning into ice-skating rinks.

Last season road crews were especially busy. Storms in December 2013 and January, February and March 2014, blanketed Bella Vista with snow. The surprise mini-blizzard in March brought 3-4 inches and closed Cooper Elementary for the 12th day of the spring semester.

"It was a tough winter for doing this type of work," Button said, whose been working with road crews for nearly 30 years. "Last year ranks as one of the worst ones in my experience because there were so many storms."

Button said that watching the weather is critical for his department. They'll often try and prep for harsh weather days in advance, putting chains on tires, equipping dump trucks and checking the city's website for new sign ups to the priority snow removal list.

"We have those routes available for people with serious medical conditions," Button said. "If they're on (chemotherapy) or dialysis. We also work with (police and fire) to assist them with any routes they might need cleared for emergencies."

But when asked which area of the city is the most difficult to maintain, Button quipped:

"It's pretty much all of Bella Vista."

General News on 01/07/2015