Kansas City’s first snow of season brings rocky start for road crews. Here’s why
When the first winter storm of the season struck Kansas City on Monday, road crews struggled to keep up with the falling snow early on in the storm.
Snowflakes quickly stuck to the pavement, and morning rush-hour traffic slowed to a crawl as highways and streets became slick and snow-covered, leading to slide-offs, crashes, and stranded vehicles.
Greg Bolon, the district engineer for the Missouri Department of Transportation’s Kansas City District, acknowledged the agency’s rocky start. He assessed the early response as a “three out of 10,” but by later in the day, the response improved to a six or seven and reached a nine or 10 by Tuesday evening’s rush hour.
The low ranking, Bolon said, reflected incidents like crashes that blocked roads.
“You can’t give yourself an outstanding grade when you have issues going on on the roadways,” Bolon said.
The first snowstorm always has its challenges, Bolon said. MoDOT crews, as well as regular drivers, are getting back into the mindset of what snow can do. Additionally, MoDOT was training 80 or 90 new drivers alongside seasoned veterans.
In addition to training new drivers, MoDOT is still dealing with staffing shortages. Bolon said the agency has about 30 maintenance positions unfilled, which is an improvement over previous years.
Thin film of ice formed under blanket of snow
Nature too had its own surprises in store for snow crews. Before the snow, ground temperatures were relatively warm, so when it fell, it acted like an insulating blanket, creating a thin film of ice, Bolon said.
Drivers who thought they were just driving on snow were surprised when they hit ice underneath, especially when they braked or turned suddenly. These hidden icy patches led to most of the accidents and slowdowns, even though crews had treated the highways in advance, Bolon said.
The timing of the snow also played a role. Although the snow was projected for around 3 a.m., it didn’t begin until 5 or 6 a.m. — right at the start of the morning commute.
“Once rush hour hits, we can’t move very quickly either because we’re caught in rush hour traffic just like everybody else,” Bolon said. He added that when crashes or stalled vehicles block the roads, MoDOT trucks are stuck in the same backups and can’t make the multiple passes that they want to make.
The snow also started out drier but then transitioned to wetter snow, allowing the salt treatments to be more effective as traffic helped break it down, Bolon said.
With between 3 and 5 inches of snow falling in the metro area, Bolon said this was a “fairly significant event.”
“Within 24 hours of the snow ending, most of the areas were back to drivable lanes,” Bolon said. “So that’s why, at the end of the event, I considered we’ve done a good job.”
Delayed pretreatment on Kansas City streets
Kansas City’s crews faced similar challenges on city streets.
Michael Shaw, Kansas City’s Public Works director, said they had been tracking the snowstorm for several days before its arrival. Each day, forecasts got progressively worse, and projections increased to three inches or more. In preparation for the storm, the city suspended trash service on Monday and Tuesday to ensure enough staff was available to address the projected snowfall, Shaw said.
The city delay pretreating the streets due to weekend precipitation and heavy pre-storm and post-Thanksgiving holiday traffic. While the main streets were treated, Shaw does not believe all the city’s streets were pretreated.
When the snow finally arrived, it lasted for a good 10 to 12 hours nonstop, Shaw said. That made plowing a challenge because, as soon as crews plowed, the streets were covered again. While crews were out plowing and treating the roads during the storm, it was not until the storm ended around 6 p.m. Monday that they were able to begin fully clearing the streets.
Depending on the location, between 2.5 and 5.3 inches of snow fell across the city, which Shaw said is above average for a snowstorm. An average storm dumps between 1 and 3 inches of snow in Kansas City.
Warmer weather on Tuesday and Wednesday help crews to clear the snow quickly, Shaw said.
“I think everything went fairly well,” Shaw said. “We got substantial completion done within 24 hours, and then within 36 hours, we were for the most part completed.”
The city is concerned about incoming frigid temperatures on Thursday and will have crews address slick spots, ice, and black ice. Residents noticing unplowed or icy areas are encouraged to report them to 311, so crews can respond promptly, Shaw said.
The city had about 175 trucks in operation during the snowstorm, plowing 103 routes. The city added 30 routes by shortening some residential routes that were deemed too long. It also brought in employees from solid waste services.
That new strategy, learned from a major storm last January that dumped nearly a foot of snow on the metro, helped crews reach areas a little faster, Shaw said.
The city will conduct an after-action report to examine how it handled snow removal, including any complaints and compliments it received.
The city asks residents to give crews 24 to 48 hours after a snow event to clear the snow, Shaw said. He added that what’s important is establishing realistic expectations because it’s hard to clear snow while it’s still snowing.
“We consider it a privilege to work for this community,” Shaw said. “We take the good with the bad, and we want to hear it all. That’s how we get better.”
