FITCHBURG — In the aftermath of the region’s first winter storm, which dropped nearly 25 inches of snow in parts of Fitchburg over two days, city officials said crews are finishing up on the roads and focused on preparing for the next storm.
The storm, which began Sunday night and carried into Tuesday morning, closed all area schools and municipalities for two days in a row.
“Overall I think the DPW did a great job in maintaining the roadways open,” said Commissioner of Public Works Nicolas Bosonetto. “The main roadways were cleared down to bare asphalt Monday morning and again on Tuesday by noontime.”
According to Bosonetto, the city received 24.8 inches of snow since the storm began, a total which constitutes 37% of the Fitchburg’s annual average snowfall.
Fitchburg wasn’t the only local community that topped two feet of snow. The National Weather Service reported Townsend had 25.2 inches, followed by Lunenburg with 25.1 inches with Leominster finishing with 20.8 inches.
“As we do with any storm, we are prepared for inches or feet,” said Mayor Stephen DiNatale.
Bosonetto said the city was ready for the storm, and has taken several steps to be prepared for large storms such as this.
He said there were 25 plow trucks, spreaders, and other heavy equipment ready to go before the first flake even fell. The city’s new salt shed was also filled with about 1,500 tons of salt ahead of the storm.
Bosonetto said the department had hired contractors to provide an additional 58 plow trucks and 10 spreaders to assist during big storm events.
“The roadways were pre-treated with salt starting at 1 p.m. on Sunday so that the snow would not bond to the pavement and make plowing easier,” he said.
According to DiNatale, this year the city is utilizing a new salting method to keep the roads ice free. Five sanders in the city’s fleet of trucks have been outfitted with calcium chloride tanks, he said. The substance is sprayed on the salt as it exits the truck and helps it stick to the road.
Bosonetto added that several crew members are on their third day of working 18-hour shifts.
” They are very dedicated and take a lot of care and pride in Fitchburg,” he said. “They know the neighborhoods and the streets very well.”
With the storm finished, DPW workers are concentrating on pushing back the snow banks, clearing the dead-end streets, and snow-blowing the sidewalks, he said.
Of course, the New England winter is just getting started and the city is preparing for the next big storm.
“We are already starting to prepare for the next storm by ordering more salt, repairing our equipment, and giving the crews time to rest,” said Bosonetto.
