As Winter Weather Grips Santa Fe, City’s Snow and Ice Plan Kicks into Effect

By City of Santa Fe

With Santa Fe seeing its first significant winter storm this past weekend, the Public Works department is releasing its 2018 Snow and Ice Plan, first presented to the Public Works Committee at a meeting two weeks ago.

The plan sets out which streets are plowed or sanded and in what order during winter storms. It prioritizesservice to arterials, collectors, and selected streets that make up the basic network of travel throughout the city. Its intent is to safely move the majority of the City’s traffic and to provide access to police, fire stations, hospital and major medical facilities, senior centers, and schools.

To accomplish that goal, the department crews split the city into five equal geographic areas. Roads within each area are given a priority order from one to three.

Roads in yellow—including Cerrillos, St. Francis, St. Michael’s/Old Pecos Trail, Bishop’s Lodge, Hyde Park, North Guadalupe, and Paseo de Peralta—are maintained by the State Department of Transportation. For question or to report poor conditions on one of these roads call (505) 827-5100.

Plowing of Priority 1, 2, and 3 roads starts as soon as 2” of snow or ice accumulates. For lighter storms, crews will apply sand to city streets based on priority and target known problem areas including steep grades, hazardous intersections, hilly terrain, or other challenges.

“Sanding”—actually a mix of crushed lava rock and rock salt—and/or plowing during storms is carried out on a 24-hour basis, using crews that rotate in shifts, until the storm has cleared. In extreme cold or icy conditions, the City utilizes an ice slicer to break up ice on roadways.