Snowplow in Appleton Jan. 9, 2024. PC: Fox 11 Online
OSHKOSH, WI (WTAQ-WLUK) — It’s been a busy week for crews in Oshkosh, working to clear the streets of several inches of snow.
“Our equipment operators know that having to work some extra hours, especially during winter, during snowplowing events, they understand that that is a part of their job,” Oshkosh Public Works Director James Rabe said.
Rabe said a large group of plow drivers have been called in early in the mornings and sometimes don’t get to leave until the evening.
“12 hours, 13 hours — alright, we’re gonna get you guys home. The guys that came in a couple hours later than you, we’re going to keep those guys on for a couple more hours to try to get them a break, so they can go home and get some rest and be fresh before they’re back out on the road again. Because these are pretty big pieces of equipment,” Rabe said. “I can’t have somebody tired behind the wheel of these.”
Even on Monday, officials in Oshkosh were ready for Tuesday’s storm. Preparation for snowfall in general begins even sooner. Wednesday offered somewhat of a break, but Rabe knows it’ll be more of the same heading into Friday with another storm quickly approaching.
“Setting ourselves up as best we can to be able to have our full crew working during the day as much as possible and then again early Saturday morning, likely for a full plow,” Rabe said.
The city’s public works division has about 30 people tasked with keeping between 250 and 260 miles of streets clear of snow.
“Some of those four lane roads, it’s not one pass down and back and you’re done. You’re having to go a couple of passes or a couple pieces of equipment,” Rabe said.
And that’s not everyone involved in the operation. When street crews are called in at two in the morning, others are working back at the facility.
“We also have a couple mechanics in at that time just to be able to take care of any potential issues we might have with equipment,” Rabe said.
While balancing those long hours can present a challenge, it’s one that those in the field are always expecting.
“We’re in real good shape right now to be able to tackle this next event,” Rabe said.
A key element of the preparation piece for Oshkosh is monitoring national weather service reports so they know when they’ll need to call in the majority of the street crews.
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