Road crews put in extra hours in midst of early winter storm

Winter has arrived in Cass County, with a vengeance.

Local residents have spent the last several days contending with lake effect snowstorms, with over a foot of accumulated snow recorded in some areas of the county. The National Weather Service has issued several winter storm warnings over the last few days, the most recent coming Wednesday afternoon, urging citizens to avoid travel unless absolutely necessary.

In response, crews with both the City of Dowagiac and the Cass County Road Commission have mobilized, dedicating extended man-hours toward clearing off the county roadways. After several days of high winds and constant snowfall, the weather relented enough during the evening and early morning hours of Tuesday and Wednesday to give plow trucks a chance to catch up, improving the traversal of roadways dramatically.

“The fact we had school [on Wendesday] speaks about the quality of work our road crews and ones with the county have done to make the streets ready and safe for travel,” said Dowagiac City Manager Kevin Anderson.

City crews had worked nearly the entire day Tuesday to try and stay ahead of the torrential blizzard. Though they were armed with several new pieces of plowing equipment, the response to the winter conditions were in line with those seen in prior winter emergencies, Anderson said.

“We have plans in place to deal with these situations, whether it snows 2 inches or 20 inches,” he said.

Crews with the county road commission also put in extended hours throughout the week. The decision was made prior to the beginning of the week to extend the workday by a few hours due to the weather forecasts.

“It’s better to prepare and shorten days if necessary rather than try and lengthen them,” said Director Steve Lucas.

The commission has dispatched vehicles to every single one of its 23 routes throughout the last several days, placing priority on the roads with the most daily traffic.

“We’re trying to hit every road in the county,” said Director Steve Lucas. “We should have covered all roads, including gravel ones, by the end of the day on Wednesday.”

Crews experienced the most difficulty dealing with roadways near the center region of the county, Lucas said. Townships in the northern and southern portions of the county, such as Silver Creek and Porter, were hit less significantly than ones surrounding the Cassopolis area, which was buried between 10 to 12 inches of snow over the last few days.

Despite the freezing temperatures and other adverse weather conditions, both the city and county crews have faired pretty well in the first major storm of the season, with equipment and supplies holding up well.

While it may be hard to determine just what lies ahead of the region following the second round of weather forecasted for the week, both leaders don’t anticipate any major issues with their response moving forward.

“I’m quite confident we’ll be able to respond to whatever else winter throws our way this year,” Anderson said.