Jonesboro, AR – (JonesboroRightNow.com) – Jan. 9, 2025 – With the potential for winter weather from Thursday evening through late Friday, the Jonesboro Street Department is prepared for the icy mix.
Jonesboro Street Director Steve Tippitt said on Wednesday morning that the Street Department is prepared, and crews are on standby.
“We have eight trucks that we dress up with spreaders and plows and we have two chemical trucks with plows on them,” he said. “We have been working this week getting them all really and putting them through their paces to make sure everything is ready.”
He said the Street Department starts getting the trucks ready for the winter months around the end of October, just in case.
“I’m just keeping a real close check on the weather. [On Thursday] we’ll make a decision on whether we will send our night crew home at lunch because as soon as it starts doing any kind of snowing, we’ll get out and start working,” Tippitt said. “We’ll go to 12-hour shifts, and we’ll stay at the 12-hour shifts until we get the roadways open.”
According to Tippitt, with this storm, he expects to probably go through about 200 tons of sand and about 1,000 gallons of chemicals to keep the roads clear and safe.
When crews do start their snow removal, Tippitt said they work on the main thoroughfares [the primary roads] first because that’s the first thing they need to keep open. This includes roads such as Caraway Road, Main Street, Washington Avenue, Huntington Avenue, Matthews Avenue, Flint Street and Nettleton Avenue. Plus, they help out the highway department on all the overpasses going over Interstate-555 and parts of Southwest Drive and Highland Drive.
“They have a lot bigger area than we have, and they don’t make it in town soon enough to help us out. So, we kind of help them out too. We’ll work on them until the ’til the snowstorm stops,” Tippitt said.
Once the main thoroughfares are completed, Tippitt said they begin on the secondaries, such as subdivisions.
“We feel we should keep the main thoroughfares open because if you can get to the main thoroughfare, you can go anywhere you need to go,” he stated, noting that, if the snow starts Thursday night, it would probably be next Wednesday before they were completely done with the roads.
Jerry Murrell, Jonesboro Street Department Crew Leader and Plow Truck Operator said winter weather can make for a long day… or night in his case as he is already scheduled to work nightshift for this round.
“It’s long. We’re out here day and night. Working 12-hour days or 12-hour night from six to six,” he said. “Other than that, you’re just going from street to street. You have our primary roads and your main roads that we hit first and then we have our secondaries, which is through neighborhoods and stuff.”
But Murrell said that he isn’t the only one staying busy as there are a lot of other jobs. Those who operate equipment such as the chemical trucks, three different size plow trucks, road graders, and skid steers all have their own jobs to do.
For example, he said that while the plow trucks get bigger roads and areas, the chemicals trucks’ smaller size allows them to access and clear smaller areas, such as speed tables and fire department drives. Meanwhile, the skid steers are clearing parking lots, hospitals, and turning lanes.
While icy roads are potentially dangerous for many drivers, Murrell said the roads don’t worry him too much.
“There’s not really any danger. It’s kind of like every day driving. You have got to look out because you have got this cloud in front. So, you have to watch for the cars that are coming, and you might see some cars in the ditches or on the roads that you have to try to go around or take another route to go around. It’s not a dangerous job if you pay attention,” he said.
Murrell added if vehicles are blocking the road or if the plow driver thinks someone might be hurt, they will report the incident to emergency services.
“Other than that, everything is pretty safe,” he said. “We just drop the plow down and we’re just fine. So, we just drive along as we go from one end of the street and then come back and do it again, and then we just keep doing it until we’re done.”