April 17, 2008
Thursday

(SitNews) - Studs are off and April surprises Ketchikan with a light snow today; nothing however like Juneau is experiencing. Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) snow plow teams are fighting back at Mother Nature today in the midst of a heavy snow storm blanketing state roads in Juneau.
 
Officials with the DOT&PF's Southeast Region (SER) office confirmed this morning that heavy equipment operators are using two plow trucks, two road graders and a chemical truck to clear snow.
 
"Usually at this time of year, we're converting from our winter operations to our summer operations, so we take our plow trucks into the shop, remove the sanders and the plows and perform maintenance on them," said Greg Patz,  SER Chief of Maintenance and Operations.
 
With as much as a foot of snow predicted by forecasters at the National Weather Service here, Patz is reminding motorists and others using the roads to do so cautiously and be mindful of the state's heavy equipment operators.
 
"Whiteout conditions obviously make driving very difficult for everyone including our heavy equipment operators," Patz said. "We're asking the public to be vigilant and watch for the plows and maintain a safe distance as they work to clear the roads."
 
With limited equipment in operation today, the snow clearing along the state highway beyond Auke Bay and on North Douglas Highway will be delayed.
 
"We're currently concentrating the extent of our operations on Egan Drive and we're doing the best we can under these unexpected circumstances," Patz explained.

Source of News:

Alaska Department of Transportation
www.dot.state.ak.us

 

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