Kitsap roads icy, treacherous

Published 9:26 am Thursday, December 18, 2008

Snow continues to fall throughout Kitsap County this morning. Most locations received 1 to 3 inches with more in some areas.

Additional accumulations are forecast through the morning.

County offices are operating on a two-hour delay and are expected to open at 10 a.m. this morning.

The roads are slick, and many are covered with snow and ice. Temperatures dropped to the upper 20s overnight, freezing any moisture on the road left from yesterday’s milder afternoon weather.

County road crews have been working all night, and continue to work around-the-clock to respond to the storm.

Kitsap County uses 24 large trucks equipped for sanding and plowing, and has eight smaller trucks used for targeted snow removal operations.

Crews plow according to the established priority snow plan.

The complete snow and ice control policy, along with a map that identifies primary and secondary routes, is available at www.kitsapgov.com/pw/snowplow.htm.

“Crews follow our priority plowing plan and are aware that all roads need plowed during winter storm events,” according to Doug Bear, Public Works spokesperson. “Calling Public Works to say your road needs plowed does not usually result in a deviation from that plan. It’s important to clear the roads that move the most traffic first.”

They are currently working on primary arterials, and will remain on those roads most of the day. Once arterials are clear, they move to secondary roads. That should happen later today or early this evening.

After primary and secondary road are cleared crews start snow and ice removal operations on residential and local access roads.

All road closures are posted to The Road Report (www.kitsapgov.com/roadwork.htm) and are updated as information becomes available. Residents who sign up for The Road Report receive regular updates via e-mail during inclement weather and storms.

The next update for The Road Report is a noon today.