City prepares for snow, cold, wind overnight

The Cedar Rapids public works department is prepared to have all its plows on the roads overnight and all day Sunday with light snow, low temperatures and high winds expected, street operations superintendent Mike Duffy said.

Only one to three inches of snow are expected by Sunday morning, according to KCRG-TV9 meterologist Charlene Malin, but winds of 20 to 35 miles per hour and single-digit temperatures could make travel difficult Sunday.

Duffy said once temperatures drop below 11 degrees Fahrenheit, the salt the city spreads on roads doesn't work nearly as well to melt snow. The city has 62,500 pounds of flake chloride available to add to the salt in cold weather, but Duffy said even then the mixture takes longer than usual to melt snow.

Duffy said he anticipated that all 94 of the city's plows would be on the roads Saturday night and throughout Sunday.

'If we have two to four inches, we'll probably have everybody in working,” he said Saturday. 'With the temperatures cold and the wind blowing, we'll be out all day tomorrow as well.”

City trucks spread brine on the roads Friday to prepare for the storm, Duffy added.

Jeff Tjaden, a district maintenance manager for the Iowa Department of Transportation, said the state would have plows on highways 380, 30 and 151.

'We'll work around the clock,” Tjaden said.

The Linn County Sheriff's Office issued a tow ban on all Linn County roads Saturday morning. The sheriff's office also reported a one-car accident near 2990 Palo Marsh Road on Saturday morning. The driver, the car's only occupant, was taken to Mercy Hospital in Cedar Rapids with non-life threatning injuries after his car went out of control on the icy road and rolled multiple times.

Sgt. Robert Collins with the Cedar Rapids Police Department said Saturday afternoon that police had not seen any significant accidents.

This winter has been a down year so far for snow removal crews, according to city statistics. Before Saturday, the public works department had responded to bad weather five times and used about 1,800 tons of salt and 19,000 gallons of brine. In a typical winter, city trucks go out 30 times and use 10,000 tons of salt and 4,000 hours of overtime work at a cost of $2.25 million.

Of the five weather incidents thus far this year, three have been freezing rain or mist, according to city data. The city had 4,500 tons of salt available before Saturday.

In 2013, a stronger than usual winter, the city responded to weather events 42 times and used 11,800 tons of salt and 5,600 hours of overtime work at a cost of $4 million.

Tjaden said he still expects to use an average amount of salt this year.

l Comments: (319) 398-8204; andrew.phillips@thegazette.com