Allan Appel Photo
That’s not a green latte but ice-melting magnesium chloride that city public works chief John Prokop is holding in the coffee cup. He showed it — and his snow plows — to the mayor as New Haven braced for another season of tackling the white stuff.
Prokop and Mayor John DeStefano Thursday afternoon were performing their annual inspection of the city’s snow plow fleet at the Middletown Avenue public works garage.
The verdict, according to DeStefano: “The plows are on. We’re ready to go.”
He was referring to the department’s 28 snow plow vehicles that when the white stuff falls will ply the city’s 226 miles of roads.
“It’s not I‑91,” he was at pains to point out. The 22 ten-mile routes that have been prepared also overlap with six narrow routes, where smaller plows on pick-ups can get the job done.
Prokop said that residents were asked to give the Department of Public Works eight hours after a storm’s end to do the major road clearing and 24 hours for smaller roads.
That would be for a storm of four inches.
If the stormy is a doozie of ten inches or more, the DPW estimates major roads cleared within 24 hours of the end, and all roads within 48 hours.
Then there’s the ice, which is where that green stuff comes in.
DPW Deputy Director Howard Weissberg said the department has four materials it uses depending on conditions. Normal sand provides traction. Salt provides de-icing up to 15 degrees. But the green material, called by a trade name Clearlane, provides not only de-icing but anti-icing when the temp is down to five degrees.
It’s not exactly a secret weapon, but Weissberg (pictured), who said the department had been using Clearlane for at least two years now, also likes the additive it contains. That means less environmental damage than wreaked by your basic sodium chloride.
He expressed confidence that the DPW’s vehicles, personnel, chemicals, and plans are up to the tasks, whatever the winter throws our way. “We have it down to a well-oiled machine,” he said.
When asked what snow concerns wake him up during the night, he said that the biggest problem last year was timing. When the snows start four and five hours later than predicted, that means the crews are out there and when the storm comes, his department has to tackle scheduling and overtime problems.
As to the sand, salt, and magnesium chloride, which also comes in a liquid form and that will be used as a kind of pre-treatment in the extreme cold, “the biggest issue is not putting down more than you need” while using enough to get the job safely done.
“We’re looking forward to seeing everyone in the first snow storm,” DeStefano said.
Excellent. These guys would do well to have someone deal with the drainage and grading problems on Edgewood eastbound across from the playground, etc. It's always slushy, then freezes, in the left lane. (The grading means that the plows only scratch the surface of the part of the left lane close to the center of the road.)
I've also noticed a general tendency (and I say this as someone who comes from a state just north of here) that the plowing in NH typically fails to get down to the road surface, which makes for a very slippery and slushy ride. Is there a rationale for this/is it an executive choice, or just NH habit?