TOLEDO, Ohio — Toledo's snow plow crews are busy preparing for Wednesday's snowstorm and based on their data, they already know what their biggest challenges will be.
Jeremy Mikolajczyk, the city of Toledo's commissioner of Streets, Bridges and Harbor, said that the combination of predicted heavy, wet snow and the timing, with most of it coming down in the middle of the work day, means his crews will have their work cut out for them.
"Main streets are going to be the first things that are hit for us. We will possibly be staying on those phase one streets for quite some time because of the amount of snow that will come down at one time," Mikolajczyk said. "It's just virtually impossible for us to move that much snow and keep it off when it's coming down at the levels we're anticipating."
To try to alleviate that as much as possible, crews have been out since Sunday, pre-treating major roads and streets surrounding schools and hospitals.
With salt barns fully stocked, and wind not an issue, the commissioner says crews will actually be able to open lanes faster than the last storm, but the amount of snow will prove to be a bigger undertaking for his crews.
The city's snow and salt teams are planning to work 12-hour shifts, with 80 people per shift working the roads nonstop.
As for when pavement will be seen again, the city says the main roads should be clear by Friday.
Now for some good news, unlike last season when it took weeks to clear residential roads, this year the city is activating "sister divisions" to tackle residential roads specifically.
If you want to see where the city of Toledo's plows are on the roads, the city has started tracking its crews to get minute-to-minute updates on plow locations. Just check the city of Toledo's website at this link to see when your road might be plowed next.