The metro area’s unincorporated housing subdivisions have great reputations for their snow removal, thanks to Douglas and Sarpy Counties’ snowplows.
But as the clearing continued into Friday, highway officials in both counties said the strength of this week’s storm, not shortcomings in their equipment or snow removal plans, kept some suburban streets from being quickly and fully cleared.
“It’s not a perfect system,” said Tom McDonald, manager of construction and maintenance for the Douglas County Engineer’s Office. “When you get a storm like this, we have our problems like anybody else.”
In Sarpy County, Highway Superintendent Rich Weber said Friday that crews had been through residential areas twice. But in a lot of areas, he said, there is too much snow for plows to push it all back to the curb.
“There are some mail boxes that probably aren’t going to get mail,” he said.
Weber said Sarpy County was responding to requests to clear areas as calls come in. In some troublesome areas, he said, crews were hauling out snow with dump trucks.
Being behind is unusual for the counties.
When the snow flies, Douglas and Sarpy Counties often proclaim all clear while the City of Omaha keeps plugging away at its neighborhoods after clearing all the main commuting routes. So while Omahans struggle with snow-clogged neighborhood streets, residents of unincorporated sanitary and improvement districts typically get out easier.
This week, Sarpy County’s Meridian Park subdvision at 168th Street and Giles Road was essentially closed Wednesday by deep snowdrifts. Even SUVs and pickups were getting stuck.
McDonald said Douglas County crews were returning Thursday to plow a few tough areas. He pointed to problems in the Cattail Creek subdivision, near 192nd and Q Streets, which had a lot of cars parked on streets and stuck at intersections as plows went through.
By Friday, McDonald said, crews were continuing the widening work in a few subdivisions, but that was due to wrap up by Friday night.
After the area’s March 2007 snowstorm, McDonald said Douglas County had enough problems that it added five plows. Although officials will review this week’s performance later, McDonald said he feels the county’s response was “pretty good.”
“One of the big things is we have the equipment to provide a fairly decent level of service,” he said.
Weber said Sarpy County has good equipment and is fully staffed. The county added two heavy tandem trucks and two operators in 2004, he said.
“We’re probably in as good a shape as we’ve ever been,” he said.
But as budgets have gotten tighter, Weber said, Sarpy has hired fewer contractors to assist county crews. That means a typical snowfall might take a couple of hours longer to clear, he said.
“We’re watching our budget,” he said. “Especially when it starts out this early, you don’t know what you’re going to have going forward.”
A slowing market for new homes and recent annexations seem to be giving the counties a break.
Sarpy County now has fewer subdivisions to plow compared with recent years. In 2005, Sarpy had 121 subdivisions, and that grew to 132 in 2007, according to the county’s Geographic Information System Department. This year, the number stands at 119.
Douglas County figures it has fewer miles of roads overall and fewer cul-de-sacs to plow compared to 2007. The mileage total has dropped from 892 to 875; the number of cul-de-sacs is down from 637 to 592.
Contact the writer:
444-1128, jeff.robb@owh.com
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