photo by: Derek Redd

Matt Garrison uses a snow blower to clear the entrance of the Byrd Intermodal Center in downtown Wheeling on Monday after a winter storm dumped snow on the Ohio Valley.

WHEELING — Crews in Wheeling are expected to continue clearing streets this week in response to Sunday’s major winter storm that dumped an average of 10 inches of snow on the area.

By Monday afternoon, many of the primary roadways had been cleared for the most part, but Wheeling Operations Superintendent Steve Johnston said they were prepared for the significant snowfall and were planning for a response that would continue for multiple days this week.

“It went pretty well,” he said. “We only had a few equipment failures, as it would go. We had a few places where our trucks even got hung up in the snow. But with that, we were able to work our way out.”

Local crews were aware of the looming magnitude of the winter storm well in advance, as a federal disaster declaration was issued for West Virginia and for several other states impacted by the sprawling storm hours before a single snowflake fell in the Ohio Valley.

“We knew this wasn’t going to be a one-day event for us,” Johnston said. “Crews worked 12-hour shifts all through the weekend, and with that, we made some headway. We still have some work to do. From the sounds of it, with the wind that’s coming, we may have some drifting conditions with the light snow, and we may have some icing – or some black ice – that’s leftover from what has melted off a little bit from our treatment. It may re-freeze from the extremely low temps, so we’ve got a lot of work yet to do.”

According to Jeff Craven, meteorologist with the National Weather Service’s Pittsburgh office, the Ohio Valley had reports of eight inches of snow in places like Wheeling to hotels of 13 inches near Valley Grove and 16 inches around East Liverpool. The region was spared the ice accumulation that created several problems in southern West Virginia.

In the wake of the heavy snow storm, a long stretch of below-freezing temperatures this week is expected to prevent snow from melting, causing the snow to stick around for days and making the threat of icy roadways an ongoing concern. Craven said the region will struggle to reach highs of 20 degrees into early February.

Officials have noted that salt alone is typically less effective – or not effective in melting snow and ice at all – when temperatures dive so far below freezing.

“We’ll use a higher concentration of cinders just so that we will have some grit on the roads that car tires and pedestrians – folks that are out there trying to cross the street who are walking – it gives them a little better traction,” Johnston said, noting that crews plowing the streets over the weekend did not use a huge amount of material to treat to roadways while snow was still steadily accumulating. “Another reason why we haven’t put down a whole lot of product is that if we put it down, we’re just going to come back a few hours later and plow it off. So with that, we’ve been reluctant to use it unnecessarily, naturally.”

On Monday, the main routes in the area improved dramatically between the early morning hours to later in the day, with most primary roads cleared by mid-afternoon.

“Hopefully, just the traffic out there is starting to chop up the debris and the snow and whatnot that’s out on the road,” Johnston said. “The primaries will be in even better shape, and the secondaries, the side streets and alley ways – hopefully folks are bearing with us. I know we’re getting the usual calls of ‘you’ve plowed me in!’ But quite honestly, that’s a condition that’s warranted by just trying to run the plows to get the streets clear for emergency traffic and for those who can pass through.”

The operations department also received some calls for assistance from people stuck on a street to those having trouble getting out of their driveways.

“We’ve tried to accommodate them as best we can, but those individual calls are kind of tough to answer with something that’s so widespread as this event,” Johnston said.

While city operations crews worked 12-hour shifts tackling the snow over the weekend, those working early Monday began 10-hour shifts to continue the response and to clear secondary roadways and other areas.

“It is all hands on deck,” Johnston said. “We’ve had the flu bug running through our workforce as well over the past couple of weeks. So the timing couldn’t have been worse. But we’ve been able to pretty much keep up.”

While crews continue to work on the streets, motorists are asked to make room for the snow plows and to keep a safe distance while they are getting the job done.

“Be patient, go slow and please be aware that our trucks have to make some sharp turns on occasion,” Johnston said. “They’re running a plow, and the warning lights mean ‘stay away.’ So if everyone would please give us the distance and the room that we need to work, and please be patient. We’re coming to get to you as fast as we can.”

Johnston added that crews have gone through a considerable amount of road treatment materials already this winter – with a little more than seven weeks still to go.

“We’re behind on our salt deliveries right now,” he said. “We have about 280 tons on order, and we’ve received over 750 tons already this year, so that’s a pretty high water mark for us.”

Wheeling City Manager Robert Herron applauded the work of the city crews that were out battling the storm and working to make the roadways as safe as possible for local commuters and essential workers who made their way to and from work in the face of the snow emergency.

“Obviously, this was a difficult weather event, but our employees showed up and did what they needed to do,” Herron said. “We’ve been plowing almost around the clock. Our employees have done an excellent job, but it’s just a difficult situation that we’re still working on.”

Now that the snowfall has ceased, the city of Wheeling has an ordinance on the books that requires property owners in certain areas to keep adjacent sidewalks clear.

“There are districts that are subject to that requirement,” Herron noted. “Zane Street on the Island, generally downtown, the National Road business district in Woodsdale and Elm Grove business district are among those areas. The ordinance requirements begin 24 hours after the last snow fall.”

Herron noted that city staff members will be reviewing applicable sidewalks on Wednesday or Thursday, and the city is expected to issue a public reminder about the ordinance this week.

Despite the heavy snowfall, the number of emergency response calls were not significant, according to Philip Stahl, spokesman for the Wheeling Police and Fire departments.

“As far as road conditions, we had just a few motorist assists – about 10 overall through the weekend, and just one motor vehicle crash,” Stahl said, noting that because of all the warnings about the severe winter weather event, most businesses were closed and people simply hunkered down and stayed home.