Snow and Ice Control Plan

Snow Plan for Winter 2009 - 2010

Snow Emergency Routes

Snow and ice removal in Fayette County is a combined effort of the City's Department of Public Works and the Kentucky Department of Highways.

Public Works is responsible for snow and ice removal from more than 1,110 lane miles of city and county roads. The state is responsible for plowing more than 500 miles of roadways in Fayette County.

Each fall representatives from Public Works administration, Traffic Engineering, the Traffic Management Center, Engineering, Sanitary Sewers, Parks and Recreation, Fleet Services, Streets, Roads & Forestry, Government Communications, the Police and Fire Departments, Fayette County Schools, LexTran, and the KYDOH meet to review and update the Snow and Ice Control Plan for the upcoming winter season.

The Division of Streets, Roads & Forestry coordinates the Department of Public Works’ long-range planning and equipment preparation for snow removal.

During the snow-and-ice season, the Division of Streets, Roads & Forestry continuously monitors the Weather Channel, two weather radar-tracking systems and area media forecasts, which enables them to forecast an impending storm up to about four hours before it hits our area.

The weather-radar system tracks the wind direction, the velocity of the storm, and what type of precipitation (snow, rain, sleet, etc.) the storm is bringing.

The City's Traffic Management Center keeps the public and media notified of street conditions and traffic movement. The Traffic Management Center constantly updates road condition reports and sends information during a snow event. That information is sent to:

• GTV3
• 4 local television stations
• 22 radio stations covering 33 counties in Central Kentucky
• 5 radio stations along Interstate 75 (in emergencies)
• Kentucky State Police posts
• AAA
• Truck stops along the I-75, I-64 corridors

 The public can call the TRAFFIC HOTLINE at 258-3611 to hear traffic updates or check local road conditions on the Traffic Management Center website.

The public can also get information on accidents, lane blockages, and snow-and-ice trouble spots and road closures on GTV3's Crosstown Traffic show, which is broadcast live from 6:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. weekdays.

The Traffic Management Center gathers information from many sources: the computerized traffic signal control system, video surveillance cameras, LFUCG Police dispatch, State Police dispatch, State Department of Highways, AAA, Kentucky Utilities, schools, LexTran, Bluegrass Airport, and the LFUCG’s divisions of Streets, Roads & Forestry, Government Communications, Engineering, and Sanitary Sewers. It also gets information from the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.

Snow Emergency Routes
The Urban County Government has designated 82 miles of roadway as Snow Emergency Routes. These roadways -- marked as such with signs -- have a high traffic volume and/or shoulders that are inadequate to accommodate disabled vehicles.

During a snow emergency, the Division of Police can remove, or have removed, a vehicle from a roadway to facilitate traffic movement and snow-removal efforts. This may occur:

• When the vehicle is parked in an area declared a Stage 1, 2, or 3 snow emergency.
• When the vehicle is stalled or disabled on the normally traveled portion of any public roadway and the owner is not attempting to remove the vehicle.

Vehicles are moved to an area designated by the Urban County Government. Car owners can retrieve their cars by calling Police at 258-3563.

Snow & Ice Control Plan - Streets Plowed by Priority
The priority plan for snow removal was developed by identifying a basic system of streets and roads essential to the continuation of traffic movement. While developing this plan, the realistic capabilities of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government, such as equipment and personnel, were kept in mind. Priority routes were developed by considering traffic volume, access to public transportation, access to emergency services, and access to primary school bus routes.

Here are how the priority streets are defined:
Priority 1 streets: Primary arteries in and out of the city, such as Main Street, Nicholasville Road, Richmond Road.
Priority 2 streets: Major connecting streets, such as Red Mile Road and Loudon Avenue.
Priority 3 streets: School bus routes.
Priority 4 streets: Primary arteries in subdivisions, which can get residents to the main roads.

There are 889 lane miles of priority streets in the city. (Lane miles are the number of lanes along a road multiplied by the distance.)

This priority plan is divided into nine areas of responsibility for work crews. Each area is assigned to a supervisor who is given trucks, plows, and spreaders. Crews start with the priority 1 streets and proceed through all of the priority streets. When these streets are plowed one time, the crews return, by priority, to the streets that need to be re-plowed. While crews are plowing streets in the urbanized area of Fayette County, other crews are also plowing county roads. Only when all priority streets are totally clear will Streets, Roads & Forestry have the manpower and equipment to plow non-priority streets. Removal efforts do continue until safety hazards caused by a snow or ice emergency have been eliminated.

The amount of snow, the type of snow and\or ice, and the duration of the storm affect the time it takes to complete work on each priority street.

Rural Area Snow Plan
The rural area snow plan designates snow removal responsibilities for the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government and the Kentucky Department of Highways. Currently, the LFUCG is responsible for salting and plowing 115 miles of rural roadway, while the KYDOH provides snow removal for approximately 500+ miles of Fayette County's roadways.

The LFUCG's rural snow plan divides the county into two sections that are separated by Leestown Rd./Main St./Richmond Rd. The direction the snowfall is moving dictates where crews begin plowing. All designated roads are basically of equal priority, with the exception of hilly areas near the Kentucky River.

Help From Other Divisions
The Division of Sanitary Sewers clears one-fifth of the lane miles, using its personnel with six dump trucks and two 4x4 pickup trucks. The divisions of Solid Waste, Traffic Engineering, and Engineering also provide personnel. Some normal operations of these divisions, such as garbage collection, can be suspended or curtailed as equipment and personnel are reallocated to the snow-fighting effort.

The Division of Fleet Services puts its staff on a 24-hours-a-day, 7-days-a-week schedule in severe weather to service and repair snow equipment.

Personnel from the Division of Engineering are often activated to unclog storm-water basins and maintain storm-water sewers during snow emergencies.

Equipment
The Urban County Government has 49 trucks with plows -- this consists of 32 dump trucks, eight super-duty trucks, and nine 4x4 pickup trucks. It also has one front-end loader, two skid loaders, two graders, and three backhoes.

Municipal regulations and public health protection require that the Division of Solid Waste provide garbage, recyclables, and yard waste collection regardless of weather conditions. The exception is during an emergency situation such as heavy snow and ice. WHERE TO GET INFORMATION

Division of Streets, Roads & Forestry
Weekdays: 8 a.m. til 5 p.m.
258-3451 or LexCall at 311 or 425-2255
Nights or emergencies: 4 p.m. til 7:30 a.m.
258-3600

Division of Government Communications
(LexCall, Public Information Office, GTV3)
425-2255 or 311

State Highways Information Hotline - 511
Ky. Department of Highways - (859) 246-2355
Kentucky State Police - (502) 227-2221

Emergency Operations Center (859) 258-3970: When a state of emergency has been declared by the Mayor, the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) opens to provide resources and coordinate the community’s needs such as: transportation, medical, food, shelter, heat, etc.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS