The first plowable snow of the winter of 2021-22 was wet and heavy. But clearing it from streets, sidewalks, and parking lots has so far been routine, says Department of Public Works Director David Manugian.
“We really appreciate residents’ patience today,” Manugian said. “We’ve gotten very few calls.” He added that “we still have some cleanup to do.”
The snow-clearance crew wasn’t quite fully-staffed, Manugian said, including one or two fewer private contractors who supplement the town plows. “This is the first time we’ve called in contractors, including a few new ones, and we wanted to make sure they were familiar with their routes.”
“We got around six inches but we’ll wait for the official confirmation in a day or two,” the director said.
Manugian outlined the pre-treatment process that facilitates removal of snow and ice from pavement. “Given that it was a wet snow and the roads were kind of cold, this was the kind of snow where we do a lot of pre-salting,” he said. “That breaks the bonding between the road and snow and makes it easier to scrape off.
The Highway Division uses a brine solution sprayed onto the salt, he explained, resulting in a chemical reaction that makes it “heat up.” That expedites how quickly the salt can interact with the frozen snow and frozen pavement, he said.
The work was facilitated by reduced traffic resulting from the decision to close schools for the day.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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