TOWN OF POUGHKEEPSIE – The enormous winter storm gripping a large portion of the country has plow drivers working hard to keep up with the rapidly falling snow. In the Mid-Hudson, snow began falling around 7 a.m. on Sunday and is expected to last through most of Monday, according to the National Weather Service. The forecast calls for 14 to 24 inches of accumulation by the time the storm passes, and the Winter Storm Warning is in effect until 7 p.m. Monday.
Several counties have issued travel bans for all non-essential employees. Officials throughout the region are encouraging people to stay home to allow the plow operators to clear the roads.
Town of Poughkeepsie Highway Department staff, supplemented by other town departments, reported for duty at 5:30 Sunday morning to pre-treat the roads with salt and liquid calcium.
Once the snow began accumulating, the trucks transitioned to plowing the roadways.
Town Highway Superintendent Mike Simon and Deputy Superintendent Mike Stearns were not sitting idle while the plows were on the roads. Simon was out in his pickup, equipped with a plow, clearing snow from intersections. Stearns was operating a front-end loader to plow the roads in the Raymond Avenue Business District.
The town’s plow operators will be working around the clock until 7 a.m. Monday, when the progress will be reviewed by Simon and Stearns.
Many municipalities are concerned about running out of salt, according to highway superintendents in the region.
The City of Poughkeepsie, however, according to City Administrator Joe Donat, is not concerned because they received several tons last week. Donat also said that all of the DPW plow equipment was up and running as of noon, after having a few sanders out of service earlier Sunday. A contingency plan between Poughkeepsie and Dutchess County will have county equipment come in to help the city move snow, if needed.
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