Drive anywhere in the Northeast after a snowfall. The White Mountains. The Champlain Valley. Western New York. The Worcester hills.
You won’t find a higher level of excellence in snow removal and winter safety than that executed by the Bedford Department of Public Works.
It’s a well-earned reputation cultivated over more than five decades, and the DPW is gearing up to sustain it during inevitable winter operations.
“We plow 82 miles of roads, 22 of our 43 miles of sidewalks, the Minuteman Bikeway, and the narrow-gauge rail trail from Loomis Street to Pine Hill Road,” reported David Manugian, DPW director. That means “making sure our fleet of 27 plowing vehicles is ready to put on the plows and run properly.”
Commanding the flotilla is the operations manager of the DPW’s Highway Division, Carl Gagnon. This will be his eighth snow season in Bedford.
“A large storm event has a number of phases,” Manugian explained. “While it is snowing, our main goal is to keep roads open for emergency vehicles. As the snow tapers down, we clear around the schools and widen the roads for general traffic. This first phase often runs 24-36 hours and ends with a chance for the staff to finally catch some sleep.”
“The next phase includes clearing sidewalks leading to schools, the downtown, and then collector roads, in that order,” he continued. “Finally, areas such as the bikeway and the rail trail are cleared.”
Manugian delineated the department’s “multiple approaches” to snowstorms.
“For icy roads, we deploy six salting trucks (no sand) to focus on the main roads and hilly areas. These trucks also have plows and can both plow and salt at the same time,” he related.
“Most snow events involve all 27 pieces of the Town’s equipment,” he said. “For larger storms we’ll bring in additional staff and expand to about 14 vehicles. For the largest storm we have an additional 17 contractors we call in to assist with routes.”
“We use a significant amount of salt each winter and have a salt shed that holds around 1,500 tons ready for use,” Manugian said.
“We’ll be sending out a flyer this month to all residents describing our plowing process and providing information about frequently asked questions,” he noted. “We also encourage residents to visit our web site at https://www.bedfordma.gov/highway-division/pages/winter-operations.”
Jennifer Mehigan, director of media relations for the Massachusetts Port Authority, said the Hanscom Field snow-removal inventory is almost as large as the town’s core operation.
“Hanscom has 23 pieces of snow removal equipment, and 16 employees plus temporary seasonal staff work on snow removal,” Mehigan said. “The snow is removed from the airfield and piled up in basically non-used spaces.”
Hanscom averages 59 inches of snow annually, Mehigan said, and “we’ll react to whatever happens. The goal is to keep the airport open throughout any weather as long as it is safe to do so, which means the ability to keep at least one runway and associated taxiways clear of snow. Obviously, everything we do is about safety.”
She noted that the Hanscom team has won the Balchen/Post award five times in the past eight years. The award, sponsored by the Northeast Chapter, American Association of Airport Executives, is presented to snow removal teams for their dedicated efforts in maintaining their airports in safe and operational status during the winter season.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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