Leader Staff
Things got a bit messy and road crews worked through the day to keep on top of it, but the first significant snowfall of the season Tuesday reportedly caused few problems.
“It went well,” Shawano County Highway Commissioner Grant Bystol said. “We had 43 trucks and 43 operators out fighting the storm.”
Bystol said it was “long and dragged out,” as light snow and a wintry mix continued throughout the morning and afternoon.
Another wave of snow and rain was expected to start early Wednesday and was forecast to once again linger through the day.
Motorists were apparently quick to adapt to the changing driving conditions.
Bystol said there were a few minor accidents involving vehicles sliding off the road.
“The public handled the first storm well,” Bystol said.
In the city of Shawano, the plows were out between 3 and 4 a.m., “before the school buses,” Public Works Director Eddie Sheppard said.
Like highway crews, city plow drivers were out off and on all day clearing the streets and dropping salt, he said.
It was the first winter storm since Sheppard took over the Department of Public Works.
He has previously said that among his goals in the new job is a review of snow plowing procedures to make sure the city is dealing with the snow efficiently and making the most of its resources.
Tuesday’s response, however, suggested there might not be much tweaking of procedures needed, according to Sheppard.
He said crews are familiar with the routes and were well-organized.
“They did a good job,” he said. “I was happy with the way they responded.”
