Lawrence crews prepare roads, bridges, plows for incoming winter storm

City staff members have been working to prepare infrastructure for ice and snow that’ll soon hit Lawrence and getting snowplows ready to roll.

Unfortunately, the newly named city snowplow — “Taylor Drift” — will have to do it with a broken heart.

The city recently held a contest for the community to name a snowplow, and “Taylor Drift” was selected as the winner. The city is collaborating with a vendor on a magnetic name tag, but it’s not yet ready.

“We previously toyed with the idea of having our sign shop create a sign, but after some conversations about potential snow/salt buildup, we are pivoting to a super big and colorful magnet,” Michael Leos, spokesperson for Lawrence Municipal Services and Operations, said via email. “We’ll be posting on social media once Taylor Drift is ready to hit the streets! Such a bummer we don’t have the magnet before this storm!”

Leos said crews on Friday were pretreating bridges and elevated surfaces that tend to accumulate ice quicker than other areas. 

But preparation truly begins in the fall, according to Leos. In November, crews get all their snow removal vehicles and tools ready for winter as part of a “Snow Day,” he said. When wintry weather is forecast, they take action.

“When we receive a forecast with winter weather, our teams coordinate to pretreat surfaces and plan ahead for personnel coverage,” Leos said via email. “It takes a big crew to keep our streets clear and safe, and we are so grateful to our dedicated staff who work around the clock.”

Part of MSO’s preparation is also to make anti-icing liquids. Leos said crews can store 25,000 gallons of salt brine and 5,000 gallons of Beet 55, a beet-based de-icing liquid.

MSO plans to deploy 16 trucks — 12 dump trucks and four flatbeds — with spreaders and plows out during each shift this weekend. Lawrence Parks and Recreation will also have some snow removal vehicles out.

Where are the snow plows, and how are the roads?

Crews begin plowing priority areas soon after snow starts sticking to the pavement. Operators are assigned to select priority routes across town, such as major intersections.

Once the snow has stopped, priority routes are clear and there’s at least 2 inches of snow, crews will transition into plowing residential roadways.

Since plows need ample room to remove snow, Leos said community members can best assist crews by keeping vehicles and other items out of the roadway when possible.

Here’s a map that gets updated anytime the snow plows are on the roads. The map also includes traffic camera views of some intersections around town.

You can see the map online at lawrenceks.org/snow as well.

The city also has a map that shows some road temperatures and conditions as recorded by three sensors across town. That’s available at this link.

The city has published a snow and ice control plan for 2024-25:

Snow-and-Ice-control-plan-2024-25

Driving outside of Lawrence? KanDrive, an app and website from the Kansas Department of Transportation, has info on road conditions statewide. (Read more about it at this link.) The app is available for download free on the App Store and Google Play. It is available online at KanDrive.gov. 

Sidewalks

“To make public sidewalks safe for all pedestrians, the owner of property immediately adjacent to a public sidewalk is responsible for the removal of any snow or ice that accumulates on the sidewalk,” according to the City of Lawrence. “Removal must be done within 48 hours after the ice forms or the snowfall ends.”

If it’s impossible to remove ice, the property owner is required to place sand on the sidewalk within 48 hours.

See more weather resources at the links below.

Maya Hodison (she/her), equity reporter, can be reached at mhodison@lawrencekstimes.com. Read more of her work for the Times here. Check out her staff bio here.

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