Road Crews Handle Snow Removal Concerns

When snow falls, many people are anxious to drive on the most clear roadways possible. The county and city do their best to remove the snow as quickly as workers can accomplish the job.

Wolf Point Mayor Chris Dschaak said the city employees clear emergency lands and school routes first.

“Those are high traffic areas,” the mayor noted.

The city’s road department features a supervisor, three maintenance workers and a mechanic. Their hours are from 7 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. When a snow storm hits during the weekend, Dschaak has authorized overtime pay for needed work to take place. Workers also keep busy when they need to chip ice or snow out of drains.

“Unfortunately, you can’t predict snow storms,” Dschaak said. “The weather is the most unpredictable thing that we deal with.”

The state clears Highway 2 and Main Street because it’s a state right-of-way street.

Dschaak said the city doesn’t have a separate budget item for snow removal.

“We’re trying to do our best, I know the general public doesn’t always see it that way,” Dschaak said. “Us being fully staffed is at the minimal that we need.”

He said he wishes the city could afford to purchase additional equipment to make snow removal quicker and easier.

Roosevelt County also doesn’t have a separate budget for snow removal. The work is part of the road department’s budget.

At times, overtime funds are needed especially when storms happen during the weekend.

“They have been doing a tremendous job,” Roosevelt County commissioner Gordon Oelkers said of the road crew.

He explained that overtime is covered because cash reserves from a less snow removal previous year are carried over.

Oelkers said road crews tackle school bus routes first and then move on to likely trouble spots.

“The road crews know these routes so well,” Oelkers said. “They take care of them.”