Let It Snow!

Louisville Metro’s Snow Team is ready for whatever ------ Nature brings our way this winter, Mayor Greg Fischer declared today. Fischer was surrounded by the 265-member Snow Team and an assortment of plows and other snow fighting equipment during the announcement at Papa John’s Cardinal Stadium.

“These dedicated men and women stand ready to answer the call to leave their homes at all hours to make the roads safe for the rest of us as often as necessary,” Fischer said.

The Snow Team is led by Metro Public Works and also includes Metro Parks, the Department of Codes & Regulations, and the Division of Fleet and Facilities. There are 160 pieces of snow fighting equipment used to treat and clear more than 2,700 two-lane miles of roads throughout Louisville’s 386 square miles.

This year Louisville will begin the snow season with 40,000 tons of salt on hand. That’s 67 percent more than the 24,000 tons we used across eight snow events in the winter of 2014/2015. It’s just under the 41,000 tons of salt required across 22 snow events in the 2013/2014 season. We have a contract in place to order more salt if needed.

Most of the salt will be stored underground in Louisville Mega Cavern, 1841 Taylor Avenue, with about 13,500 tons distributed to four above ground locations where it will be loaded onto salt spreading vehicles as needed.

The city will also continue to pretreat roads with brine ahead of snowfalls. Brine is a saltwater solution that reduces the adherence of snow and ice to pavement and reduces slick spots.

Snow removal progress can be followed via an interactive online map. During snow events we will post a link to the snow map on the city website www.Louisvilleky.gov and the Department of Public Works site at www.louisvilleky.gov/publicworks. Residents can enter an address to see whether a road has been salted or plowed before heading out.

The latest updates will also be posted on Twitter. Just follow the new @LouPubWorks profile. It replaces the former LouSnowPlow and MetroLouStreets handles, and includes information about all Public Works topics.

City snow routes include arterial and collector roads, bus routes and roads to major employers and emergency facilities.  The Kentucky Transportation Cabinet and private contractors clear about 600 miles in the city. About 1,000 miles of neighborhood streets are only cleared when a snow emergency has been officially declared.