Dear Mr. Know‑It‑All:
How do local areas respond to the heavy snowfall, as we had on Jan. 9? It seemed like it was more snow than we are used to getting.
Signed,
Ice E. Spot
Dear Ice E.:
You bring up a good question, because, unfortunately, winter is not over yet. The answer has a lot of layers, kind of like the roads after a storm: white, fluffy snow on top, but a layer of slippery ice on the bottom!
Lucky for us, Farmington and San Juan County don’t see too many serious winter storms with lots of snowfall, but when we do, crews respond to clear the way.
Mr. Know‑It‑All reached out to the road folks at both San Juan County and the city of Farmington to learn how they battle Mother Nature’s wintry wrath. They told me they work on a priority system. The roads most traveled get attention first. Think of it as the “Opposite Robert Frost approach!” For San Juan County, Public Works Director Nick Porell says you’ll see crews working first on County Road 350 and County Road 5500. Then they move to what are called collector roads, such as County Road 6100 or County Road 3950. From there it’s on to local roads, such as neighborhood streets.
Now, keep in mind, if you live on a county road with a red‑and‑white sign with the letters NCM, that means your road is non‑county maintained, and it doesn’t matter how much snow we get, the county cannot plow or do any other work on a private road labeled NCM.
(County Road 3315 is one of several NCM roads in San Juan County designated with a red‑and‑white sign. NCM means non‑county maintained. Courtesy: Google Maps)
Porell says it’s important to note that the entirety of San Juan County is rarely impacted by snowy weather at the same time, which gives his crews a chance to clear the priority roads in the affected areas.
The same is true in the city of Farmington, where Streets Superintendent Chad Fuller told me busy routes like Main Street, 20th Street, 30th Street and Piñon Hills Boulevard have a high priority. The city of Farmington has a colorful set of maps called Snow Control Routes on its website (FarmingtonNM.gov) that show the coverage for snow removal on primary and secondary routes. There are two maps, one for five vehicles and one for six, so crews know what roads they are responsible for even if one truck isn’t available. For an extreme snow event, city policy says the Public Works Department can borrow five CDL‑certified drivers from the Parks Department to help with snow removal. Fuller says once the main routes are clear, crews will respond to neighborhood streets.
One other weapon against ice and snow used by both the city and the county is something called Ice Slicer, a granule spread on snowy or icy roads. The New Mexico supplier, Desert Mountain Corporation, says the product helps melt ice and snow in temperatures as cold as 0 degrees. San Juan County’s Nick Porell says the county mixes Ice Slicer with sand to add traction on slippery roads. Farmington’s Chad Fuller says the city adds a product called A‑Pex to pre‑wet the Ice Slicer granules to help the de‑icing process along. Both men reminded me that their crews pay special attention to bridges, which freeze faster and sooner than the roads around them, something for all of us to keep in mind.
We don’t know how many more winter storms are heading our way this season, but the one thing Mr. Know‑It‑All does know is that the crews who work to clear the roads during and after a snowstorm deserve our respect and thanks!
Mr. Know‑It‑All is Scott Michlin, the general manager of KSJE 90.9 FM, community‑supported radio at San Juan College. If you have a question about something in San Juan County, drop him a line at SMichlin@tricityrecordnm.com. If he doesn’t know the answer, he knows someone who does, and you’ll read about it here in the pages of the Tri‑City Record!
