Snowplows are out in Tacoma, but here’s why they probably won’t clear your street
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Snow Days 2021
The frigid cold that gripped Western Washington and dumped several inches of snow in the city is expected to stick around.
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Crews in Tacoma were working Monday to clear city streets after snow blanketed the region over the weekend.
As cold temperatures will linger for the next few days, the snow isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.
If you’re waiting for the road outside your home to be cleared, you might be waiting a while.
City crews plow and de-ice streets on a priority level, beginning with roads most traveled, or “primary arterial streets,” and clear one lane in each direction. The city’s Street Operations division maintains 410 miles of main arterial streets, including North Pearl, Sixth Avenue, Pacific Avenue, South Tacoma Way and most streets downtown.
Crews then move to secondary routes, like South 12th Street and South Cedar Street, and then auxiliary routes like North 11th Street and Port of Tacoma Road.
City crews do not have the time and manpower to clear residential streets, according to staff.
A map of the routes is available at cityoftacoma.org/inclementweather.
Street Operations started 24-hour snow operations at noon on Saturday and will likely continue work through the weekend.
How long it takes to work through primary, secondary and auxiliary routes depends on the intensity of a particular snowstorm and how much snow or ice accumulates.
Tacoma received about 5 inches of snow in the last 24 hours, according to reports from the National Weather Service. “Dangerously cold temperatures” will linger through Wednesday with highs in the 20s and lows dipping to 15 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.
Right now, city crews are operating 12 large snow plows and two smaller plows to clear streets. They are currently working on clearing both primary and secondary streets, according to city spokesperson Maria Lee.
“Even though we had a lot of staff members on vacation this week, several of them stepped up and canceled their vacation plans with their families to ensure that we could field an effective snow fighting response,” Lee said in an email.
Prior to a weather event, crews de-ice main streets by applying salt brine, according to the city.
Lee said there is no set budget for snow operations. The city uses existing budgeted street maintenance funding to plow streets.
The Washington State Department of Transportation is responsible for clearing state highways and does so on a priority level. In Tacoma, Interstate 5 is designated Level 1, or highest priority, for clearance. State Route 16 and Interstate 705 are Level 2 priority.
WSDOT also puts down anti-icer on highways prior to a storm and during and after a storm uses salt to remove thin layers of ice and snow on roads. Sand is also put down to help with traction.
The city of Tacoma has listed on its website the following street closures due to weather:
McMurray Road is closed from Marine View Drive to Browns Point Boulevard
NE Shorecliff at both ends and 33rd Street NE at both ends of Northshore Golf course at Browns Point Boulevard
S 64th St from Tacoma Mall Blvd to Tacoma Baptist School
S 64th St from M Street to Sheridan Avenue
Browning Rd from Pioneer Way to Grandview Ave
E Valley View Terrace from McKinley Rd to East L St
South 4th Street from Broadway to St Helens
Fairbanks, East N to Portland Ave
This story was originally published December 27, 2021 at 12:15 PM.
