- As snow returns to Michigan, the plow trucks are back out and running
- Clinton County Road Commission's Managing Director Doug Steffen says that the efforts they take to clear the roads fall on a priority list
- In case of emergency, Steffen says that back roads can be cleared in an instant
(The following is a transcription of the full broadcast story)
I'm your neighborhood reporter, Russell Shellberg. When snow arrives, paved roads like these are usually the first ones to be cleared. Leaving many roads, like this one behind me, untouched. I talked to the Clinton County Road Commission to learn the process and when you can expect these roads to be plowed.
The snow is coming back to Michigan, meaning that the plow trucks will be out once again. But when snow falls, which roads are plowed first?
"We work on a priority system. Obviously, the heavily traveled roads, those are typically our early morning routes. Anything with a school, hospital, or heavy morning traffic, we hit those first around 3:30 or 4 a.m." said Clinton County Road Commission's Managing Director, Doug Steffen.
While those roads are important to get cleared, Steffen says Clinton County is home to many back-roads or country roads, which are usually left for last due to continual drifts. But in emergent situations, Steffen says that those roads can be plowed instantly.
"If our Sheriff's office or our 911 dispatch calls and says, 'Hey, I've got an ambulance on the way to this place, can you assist me and plow this road?' then we will prioritize that over everything else." said Steffen.
One person who has seen this firsthand is Clinton Transit Executive Director, MaLissa Schutt.
"We had an elderly gentleman that lived out on the back roads, and he needed to get in to get his COVID vaccination. We gave the Road Commission a call and said, 'Hey, can you help us out?' He sent us a plow truck over to that road, plowed that road, and we got the gentleman where he needed to go," said Schutt.
Schutt oversees all of the transit vehicles and is thankful to be partnered with the Clinton County Road Commission to offer safe ridees no matter the weather.
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