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Tag: snow plows

  • Montgomery County Council members press transportation, school officials about snow removal – WTOP News

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    Montgomery County Council members sharply questioned transportation, emergency management and school officials over snow removal failures.

    Montgomery County Council members questioned officials in charge of snow removal in the Maryland county Tuesday afternoon about their efforts to clear roads and reopen schools, more than a week after a snowstorm blanketed the D.C. region with inches of snow and ice.

    Since the storm, the snow removal process has received criticism from some residents due to the condition of some residential streets and the closure of county schools for five days.

    “This is perhaps the worst snowstorm I’ve ever seen,” Montgomery County Council member Sidney Katz said at a Transportation and Environment Committee session.

    And while he, like the rest of the council members, thanked snow removal crews for their hard work, Katz added, “We need to try our best not to have this misery again.”

    The National Weather Service reported parts of the D.C. region saw significant snow accumulation during the storm, ranging from 5 inches to nearly a foot. Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin told the council that crews had to move about 3 million tons of snow and ice off county roads.

    However, Conklin conceded changes are needed, particularly in how the county communicates with the public about the snow removal process.

    “We need to clean up the data entry process for the residential street clearing and get rid of those false reports of completed routes,” he said.

    Conklin also said that there’s too much reliance on technology and social media for communication.

    “We need to go back to having direct conversations about the snow status among elected officials and those responding,” he said.

    Luke Hodgson, director of the Office of Emergency Management and Homeland Security, added that there was a “mismatch” in the expectations the public had about the snow removal process.

    “We’ve all acknowledged that there are things that we could have absolutely done better,” Hodgson said. “We have a list of those already.”

    The county’s Department of General Services — which manages the county’s vehicles and facilities — worked long hours repairing equipment quickly to keep the snow removal process going, Director David Dise said.

    About 26 heavy equipment mechanics, welders, and parts technicians made repairs to snow-clearing equipment, Dise said, adding that those crews worked around the clock for five consecutive days. Among the repairs were replacing mud flaps, fixing flat tires and repairing hydraulic hoses.

    Along with the repairs, Dise said his crews were also towing trucks and Ride On buses that were stuck in snowbanks. Once the agency completed its work, some of its contractors were sent to help the county’s school system with its process, Dise said.

    Getting kids back to school

    When asked about the level of cooperation with Montgomery County Public Schools officials to clear school properties and bus stops, Conklin said there had been as many as seven to eight exchanges between transportation and school officials before a formal request for assistance was filed on Sunday.

    Council member Andrew Friedson, who is one of three county council members running for county executive, responded questioning the exchanges.

    “What was supposed to happen?,” he said. “Because I can’t imagine that the protocol suggested not responding until eight days after a storm, requesting help.”

    Conklin conceded that the department’s protocol is to have “an open line of communications,” but there isn’t a formal written agreement between the county and MCPS regarding the issue.

    “I would strongly urge there to be a written MOU between (county agencies) and MCPS that specifically delineates what will be done and how it will be achieved,” Friedson said.

    Council President Natali Fani-Gonzalez asked Adnan Mamoon, the schools’ chief of operations, about the timing of the school system’s request for help with opening schools.

    “We were focusing on clearing up our schools first. … We started gathering the intel and we shared with our partners,” Mamoon said.

    However, Council members Will Jawando and Evan Glass, both of whom are also running for county executive, challenged Mamoon’s explanation, sharing details of massive snow piles at school bus stops before classes were scheduled to start with a two-hour delay.

    “Neighbors of mine shared with me a video from the Flower Avenue Apartments where 50 school children were hoisted by neighbors over an ice barricade so that they could get on the school bus,” Glass said.

    Jawando said hundreds of people shared their concerns about the cleanup process during a town hall he attended.

    “People are frustrated, they are upset, but they’re forgiving if they know that there’s a plan and a commitment to do better,” he said.

    Council member Kristin Mink noted that during the hearing, her phone was filled with notifications that Montgomery County schools would again open with a two-hour delay on Wednesday. She questioned whether the delay would really make a difference, given the condition of some school bus stops.

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Kate Ryan

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  • What the DC region is doing with the ‘snowcrete’ it’s hauling off the streets – WTOP News

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    Arlington County crews worked nonstop for days after a major snowstorm, hauling truckloads of snow as sleet and freezing temperatures complicated cleanup efforts across roads, sidewalks and bus stops.

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    How the DC region is handling ‘snowcrete’

    In response to the recent snowstorm, crews in Arlington, Virginia, worked 12-hour shifts for seven straight days before scaling back continuous operations.

    Ever since, they’ve been working to get roads, sidewalks and bus stops clear, according to Jeremy Hassan, bureau chief for Water, Sewers and Streets in Arlington County.

    The county, Hassan told WTOP, is responsible for clearing about 1,000 lane miles in response to winter weather — that includes turn lanes, bike lanes and bridges.

    As part of the cleanup effort, neighborhoods across the D.C. region have been confronted with a choice — haul the snow away, or push it toward the curbs or parking lots, and hope temperatures inch closer to seasonal averages so it eventually melts.

    “Some of our drivers that have been doing this for 10 or 20 years, it’s even unique to them, because it’s not something that you can really train for, prepare for. They were, on the fly, making adjustments to handle it as best you can,” Hassan said.

    In Arlington, crews have been hauling it to a handful of predetermined locations. The list includes parking lots and other facilities, but time management and convenience are considered, because of the number of trips that have to be made.

    In some cases, such as near the county courthouse, hardpack snow is piled up and closing a stretch of the street.

    In other locations, Hassan said, there are snow-melters operating around the clock. It’s the first time in a decade the county has had to use the equipment.

    “Day and night, 24/7, we had to haul over 5,000 truckloads of materials from our commercial corridors,” Hassan said. “And even then, there’s still material out there that we’re trying to prioritize and find that good balance of, what’s enough to get the community out there to be able to enjoy businesses, make their medical appointments, take their family where they need to be; but also try to hope that Mother Nature … helps us kind of takes its part of that as well.”

    Some of the drop-off sites are at full capacity, Hassan said, adding, “Once we’re out there plowing, it gets to a point of where we’ve kind of maximized our efficiency of where we can push things.”

    The storm presented unique challenges, he said, because sleet came after the snow, almost creating “a skating rink on top of six inches of fluffy snow.”

    Plows are effective in pushing material off streets, but their strength is limited once it freezes, Hassan said.

    “So now, when you’re hitting it with that plow, it adds weight, it adds resistance, and they’re trying to push it to the sides,” he said. “Also, it moves in chunks versus fluffy snow, which is more like just sand and material you could push it out to the sides.”

    While the county has prioritized commercial corridors, with a lot of pedestrians and on-street parking, “you’re kind of limited where you push it, because the businesses are trying to push it closer to the street and the sidewalk. We’re pushing it to the street, and that pile just accumulates,” Hassan said.

    “In those areas, the only other option when you get to a certain point is to remove it physically, which calls for drastic hauling operations,” he added.

    The work will continue, Hassan said, until students can safely navigate bus stops, and county drivers find intersections and traffic patterns that are “looking good.”

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Scott Gelman

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  • DC set to resume trash collection, give out free salt as snow and ice persist 1 week after storm – WTOP News

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    With National Guard support and warmer weather ahead, D.C. officials expect faster service restoration as residents receive free salt and prepare for renewed sidewalk‑clearing requirements.

    After a punishing snowstorm Sunday, D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said the city is making progress and garbage removal and other city services will return this weekend.

    City officials said they plan to resume home trash pickup this weekend, starting with homes that have their garbage removed from the front of the home.

    “If your household normally gets front side collection, we will begin to pick up your trash tomorrow,” Bowser said Friday. “This weekend, we want to do the front side collections for Monday and Tuesday.”

    The city is about a week behind on trash collection, so on Monday, they will collect for last Wednesday; and Tuesday’s pickup is actually last Thursday’s. It will be like this until the city gets back on a regular schedule.

    For homes that have alley pickups, the city plans to use Bobcat machinery to get garbage cans that are trapped in snow and ice.

    Mayor Bowser gave an optimistic status report on the snow and ice removal, despite many residents voicing complaints about snow- and ice-covered streets and sidewalks days after the storm.

    In her three terms as mayor, Bowser said she’s never seen a storm that began with 6-plus inches of snow and then 10 hours of sleet, leaving streets and sidewalks coated in ice.

    The mayor also said National Guard troops, which have been on D.C. streets since the summertime, are also pitching in.

    “Some National Guard personnel have been approved to work with us, and we will be giving them some assignments related to clearing pathways for pedestrians to get to and from buses,” she said.

    The D.C. National Guard also announced Friday evening its members would be helping remove snow at D.C.’s public schools, at the request of D.C. government. Those efforts will begin Saturday.

    Overall, the mayor would not give herself or city officials a letter grade on the city’s performance — she said that is up to residents to decide. But she said 250 city plows and 130 contractors have been on the job since the first snowflake fell and she pointed to the fact that numerous downtown events have still been held, including the Washington D.C. Auto Show.

    The mayor pointed out that the extreme cold temperatures have made the snow and ice removal even more difficult, because there has been no day above freezing this week and no melting.

    “We are also urging our residents to take advantage of the sunlight and the increased temperatures next week to take care of your walkways and sidewalks. And if you don’t have that equipment, work together, in your neighborhood,” she said.

    The D.C. Department of Public Works offers a sidewalk shoveling exemption to qualifying residents 65 or older for not removing snow from their sidewalks. D.C. workers do not shovel residents’ sidewalks, but the city has multiple programs, including D.C. Snow Team Heroes, that can help.

    There’s no word yet when the city will restart its enforcement of fines for sidewalks that are not shoveled.

    This weekend, the city will be distributing free salt at five distribution sites to help residents address the icy conditions. Signing up in advance is recommended.

    From 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., noon to 2 p.m. and 3 p.m. to 5 p.m., residents who bring their own bucket or bag to carry salt can pick it up at the following locations:

    • Deanwood Recreation Center (1350 49th Street NE)
    • Greenleaf Recreation Center (201 N Street SW)
    • Kennedy Recreation Center (1401 7th St NW)
    • Turkey Thicket Recreation Center (1100 Michigan Avenue NE)
    • Wilson Aquatic Center (4551 Fort Drive NW)

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Dan Ronan

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  • Montgomery Co. officials respond to residents’ frustrations with snow response – WTOP News

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    Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said he’s gotten the message from frustrated residents about conflicting messaging on the progress of snow plowing efforts.

    After days of attacking the ice and snow that stopped the region in its tracks, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich said he’s gotten the message from frustrated residents about conflicting messaging on the progress of snow plowing efforts.

    The county’s plow tracker, designed to show the progress of snow clearing operations, had incorrectly reported that 100% of residential streets had been plowed, Elrich said.

    “The tracking system’s useful, but it’s not perfect,” he said.

    So, Elrich said, the county is resetting the snow tracker data, “and that level will not change” until the county has completed its work on residential streets.

    As of Wednesday morning, Montgomery County Department of Transportation Director Chris Conklin said the county had plowed 90% of the county’s roads.

    “Plowed streets are likely to still have snow and ice cover, but they should be passable by most vehicles,” Elrich said.

    Conklin said his department has gotten complaints that indicate some residents feel their neighborhoods are being neglected.

    “I recognize there are some streets that haven’t got the attention they deserve,” he said. “We have as many complaints about unplowed streets in Bethesda as we do in Aspen Hill or Silver Spring.”

    The county is trying to weigh those concerns equally, according to Conklin.

    “Please know that we are not picking and choosing favorites in how we handle these snow requests,” Conklin added.

    Much of the work has been completed in Bethesda, Wheaton, Clarksburg and Germantown, he said, and crews were assigned to Silver Spring overnight Wednesday.

    Communication and technology issues

    Both Elrich and Conklin said crews have been working nonstop to clear the snow and ice since the weekend, taking a toll on some of the county’s snow removal equipment.

    Conklin said there have been transmission, rear differential and hydraulic system failures affecting how the plow itself is operated.

    “Nothing unusual when a piece of equipment is in extreme use and under extreme stress,” he said. “A lot of this plow equipment is designed to move lighter snow, as the county executive mentioned … and not at the degree of hardening we’ve had.”

    County crews have also had to assist WSSC Water, as the water utility company has been dealing with multiple water main breaks in the frigid weather.

    A source of frustration for many residents calling 311 or going online to get their streets plowed or treated is that many of the requests were categorized as “closed” when they had yet to be dealt with.

    Elrich referred to that as a “communications challenge.”

    “It’s not actually closed until the operation team mobilizes people to deal with it,” Elrich said.

    Victoria Lewis, the 311 director for Montgomery County, said, “We are certainly investigating from our end, what is happening that’s causing this issue.”

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    © 2026 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

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    Kate Ryan

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  • DC officials acknowledge challenge of ‘snowcrete,’ say progress has been made – WTOP News

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    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday that following Sunday’s winter storm, the city’s government agencies have been making progress in clearing the hardened snow from city streets.

    D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser said Wednesday that following Sunday’s winter storm, the city’s government agencies have been making progress in clearing the hardened snow from city streets.

    “I want to just really start by giving a big thank you to the many people who have been working day and night, the last five days in the lead up to this storm and responding to this storm,” Bowser said at a news conference. “Our approach, our values when we go into these responses are very simple: how do we keep people safe and how do we get open?”

    The mayor also made it clear that when the city reports roads are passable, that doesn’t mean cars are dug out or you can easily cross the street.

    “We do need people to continue to focus on their sidewalks — businesses and residents,” Bowser said.

    D.C. residents voiced frustrations on social media about uncleared crosswalks and unplowed streets days after the storm and questioned the city’s now response.

    D.C. Public Schools is one of the few school districts in the region that will open Thursday, operating on a 2-hour delay both Thursday and Friday. Buses from the Office of the State Superintendent of Education and Metro will be helping get students to school.

    Though Metrorail service operated on a weekend schedule Wednesday, Metro CEO and General Manager Randy Clarke said 122 of the region’s 126 bus routes are now operational, and continue to open day after day.

    “I’m happy to announce we will run normal, 100% weekday service out on the system,” he said. “We believe by close of business today, we actually will have transported a million customers since the storm on Sunday.”

    D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Lewis Ferebee said the school system’s decision to close from Monday through Wednesday gave them ample time to prepare school campuses and adjacent streets for when they reopened.

    “We feel very confident in all the assessments that we’ve done over the past three days to ensure that our campuses are ready,” he said.

    Clint Osborn, the director of Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency, called the snowstorm “exceptionally dangerous” because of the amount of snow that was covered in a “very thick layer of ice,” causing what he called “snowcrete.”

    A cold weather advisory is in effect for most of the region as temperatures overnight into Thursday are expected to be in the single digits.

    Agency leaders reiterated how the frigid temperatures contributed to the “snowcrete,” making it difficult to traverse and remove, and impacting their response to it.

    Anthony Crispino, the interim director of the D.C. Department of Public Works, said clearing roads has been challenging due to extremely low temperatures and layers of ice, but crews have been working with 311 to identify service calls.

    “We are going to … start moving in new heavy machinery on some of the more problematic streets to break up the hard pack, or the snowcrete, and then get it out of the way so that it’s passable, with the goal of making sure that everybody can navigate the streets safely,” Crispino said.

    Crews have been hauling snow to the former RFK Stadium site, where a snow field is developing for storage, Crispino said.

    The city is also suspending fines for residents and businesses that have not cleared sidewalks within the first eight hours after a storm due to the hard, packed-down nature of the snow.

    D.C. Department of Transportation Director Sharon Kershbaum added that they’re hoping to soon allow cars to park in areas marked as “no parking on snow emergency.”

    “Getting the snow out is critical, and I think you’re going to start to see over the next few days, big changes,” Kershbaum said.

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    Ciara Wells

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