Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
Serving the Big Horn Basin for over 100 years
One winter tip from the Wyoming Department of Transportation is to slow down, increase their following distance, and use extreme caution when driving on snow-covered roadways, especially when passing snowplows. This picture shows a snowplow struck by a vehicle on Interstate 80 in March. In the first two months of 2023, 22 snowplows were struck by vehicles following too close.
As winter quickly approaches, now is a good time to remind residents about snow removal procedures in the area.
City of Worland Public Works Superintendent Nick Kruger said, "Our criteria is usually three inches... there's some variability in there but usually at about 3 or 4 inches we'll start [snow removal]."
He continued, "We do the main routes first, the highways coming through town. The secondaries are where we start tying into roads like West River Road and South Flat, secondary highways. Then the hospital and emergency access areas are third, and fourth are school zones and residential areas."
Kruger said that the city will prioritize clearing all driving lanes before moving on to parking lanes.
To find a detailed map of roads and their priority designations, you can look at the Snow Removal Priority Map on the City of Worland website, found most easily by entering the phrase "snow removal routes" into a search engine.
As for what residents can do to help city workers while they remove snow, Kruger said, "What really helps from my side is when the general public does not put snow from their yard into the streets, nor plowing public streets. We actually had this happen last year, where a couple of individuals took it upon themselves to pile up snow in a street, but they did it in a manner that emergency vehicles could not get through, so we had to shut down taking care of other sections of town to come clean that up."
He added, "The biggest thing is after the storm has come through and we're cleaning up, if someone sees our crews using loaders and dump trucks to move snow, we usually do not close the street but it's extremely helpful if they take a different route. If they go a block out of their way it helps us tremendously."
Kruger said that if anyone has concerns with snow in their street, they can contact the Public Works office at 307-347-8978.
Cody Beers, spokesperson with the Wyoming Highway Department of Transportation gives the same reminder at a regional level. He said, "Our priorities are always the main routes and school bus routes. We plow the main roads, and then we take care of the bus routes."
According to the Snowplow Priority Plan on the WYDOT website, US Highway 20 is designated a tier 2 snow removal priority, US Highway 16 is a tier 3 priority and Highways 431 and 433 are tier 4 targets. Tiers 2 and 3 vary by how many hours are allotted to work on them, Tier 2 being 20 hours and Tier 3 being 16. Tier 4 roads are to be maintained to a minimal condition of "low volume, no drifting or ridges."
Beers said "Worland doesn't typically get a ton of extra snow, but we work in conjunction with the towns' crews. We're all part of a bigger team and so we help each other."
As a reminder for driving in winter conditions, Beers wants people to remember to "Know before you go." Look at road conditions for your route on WyoRoad.info before you travel. He added, "In the event of a storm, if you don't have to go, don't. If you do, let someone know where you're going and keep in contact."
Beers said, "This time of year, especially if you know you'll be commuting, you should be getting your vehicle ready for winter driving; making sure that your tires are good, that your vehicle is serviced. Check your battery, make sure that you've got warm clothes in your vehicle, maybe some food. Minimize the chances that something can go wrong, and just be prepared for what could happen."
Worland, Ten Sleep and the Big Horn Basin is under a winter storm watch from Wednesday evening to Friday morning with possible snow accumulations of 3 to 6 inches, according to the National Weather Service.
