City removes tons of snow

City public works crews removed thousands of yards of snow from Sisters streets last week in an effort to clean up after a heavy early-season snowfall.

Using City plows and backhoes and some contracted trucks, crews took piled snow off Hood Avenue and Main Avenue and trucked it out to the former Oregon Department of Transportation yard at the west end of town, where it was piled in mounds.

Snow removal on Cascade Avenue was a slower process, which irked some merchants, who felt that ODOT had made a promise to keep the snow cleared away after the remodel project that widened sidewalks and narrowed the street. City Public Works Director Paul Bertagna noted that City crews were at the ready to remove the snow, but that ODOT was supplying the trucks and removal would have to proceed on their schedule.

The issue was somewhat obviated by rainfall on Friday and Saturday that began to melt off the berms that had piled up along the roadway. City crews worked to locate and clear storm drains to prevent puddling and flooding.

City Manager Andrew Gorayeb said that crews had kept 57.7 lane-miles of roadway plowed, along with over four miles of paved path, putting in 322 person-hours as of Thursday. Gorayeb said he plans to obtain a commercial license to have another operator available.

"Otherwise it all falls on Paul, and he works a gazillion hours," he said.

Author Bio

Jim Cornelius, Editor in Chief

Jim Cornelius is editor in chief of The Nugget and author of “Warriors of the Wildlands: True Tales of the Frontier Partisans.” A history buff, he explores frontier history across three centuries and several continents on his podcast, The Frontier Partisans. For more information visit www.frontierpartisans.com.

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