The snow hasn’t yet started to fall, but when it does, the Alaska Department of Transportation has a new tool to tell you what to expect on the roads.
This year’s DOT budget is about $34 million lower than last year’s, and that will have an effect on snow removal.
“For this winter, what’s really going to strap our maintenance resources is that we really had to cut overtime,” said DOT spokesman Jeremy Woodrow.
At dot.alaska.gov/stwdmno/wintermap/index.shtml, DOT has created a priority map that breaks down how quickly roads will be cleared after a winter storm.
In Juneau, Egan Drive is the state’s top priority — Priority 1 — and once that thoroughfare is cleared, the map shows which roads are next in line for plowing.
On the map, that’s South Douglas Highway and Mendenhall Loop Road.
Fritz Cove Road and North Douglas Highway are what’s called Priority 3 roads.
“Definitely, if you live out on North Douglas and it’s dumping snow, you might not see North Douglas plowed until Egan is cleared,” Woodrow said.
The plowing schedule will depend on a variety of factors, including how thick the snowfall is, so the DOT’s map shouldn’t be taken as absolute gospel.
According to DOT-supplied figures, Juneau’s winter maintenance staff includes 12 plow operators and one foreman. Together, that crew is responsible for 369.75 “lane miles” of roadway.
In a snowstorm, DOT would have crews working from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. There would be a morning crew and an evening crew with some overlap in the afternoons. Weekends would see fewer plow drivers but the same hours of operation.
The National Climate Prediction Center forecasts an above-average chance for Juneau to see a winter that is warmer and wetter than normal, something that could prevent the worst effects of DOT’s budget cuts.
The worse the snow, the more effects Juneauites will see.
“If it’s a dusting, people won’t even notice,” Woodrow said. “But if it’s a dumping … it will be noticeable. And if it’s coming down for several days on end, it’s going to be very noticeable.”
