With forecasts calling for 14 to 20 inches of snow, the Yorktown Highway Department and other town divisions began storm operations at 7:30 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 25, and worked through 5 p.m. Monday, Jan. 26 — a 34-hour stretch.
Departments involved included Highway, Water, Sewer, Parks and Recreation, Buildings and Maintenance, and Refuse and Recycling. Staffing included one employee handling phone calls, four mechanics addressing equipment issues, and 55 drivers, Yorktown Highway Superintendent Dave Paganelli said.
“The last time we experienced this severity of storm was 30 years ago,” he said. “Unfortunately, the brutally cold temperatures contributed to multiple issues. We experienced multiple breakdowns.”
A fuel pump at the Water Department failed, and a Highway Department pump partially froze, limiting fuel to about one gallon per minute. Sixteen trucks required minor repairs, and three were towed; one was returned to service. Crews delivered 4,000 tons of salt, pushed back snowbanks, and worked to open sightlines on more than 400 lane miles of road and 5,000 intersections. Officials said the cold caused mechanical strain, employee fatigue, and metal fatigue, and noted that large trucks without four-wheel drive sometimes slid off roads.
“As we move forward in our efforts to keep our residents safe we will have to address the depositing of snow from private properties onto town [and] public roads as it causes a very dangerous situation for our fellow residents and is illegal to do so,” Paganelli said.
The police department cited two accidents and three disabled vehicles, with no serious injuries.
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