Madison citywide plow begins at noon; roads will be challenging all day

MADISON, Wis. (WMTV) - Travel through Madison “will be very difficult at best,” Streets Superintendent Charlie Romines warned after an overnight snowstorm dropped twelve inches of “wet, dense, and deep” snow across the city. He added that people should expect driving to be very challenging for the rest of the day.

A citywide plow can take about 12 to 14 hours - but heavy snow means the plows will need to go more slowly. Around 4:30 p.m. Saturday the City of Madison announced that plowing will continue into overnight hours.

Romines urged people to park off-street, if possible, to give plow drivers plenty of room to work, so they can make their way through the city as efficiently as possible.

The Streets Division also noted that when plows are dealing with so much dense, wet snow, the citywide plow will cause windrows of snow to pile up near some driveways, crosswalks, and other spots where the curbs end.

Describing the boulder-like blockages as an unfortunate and unavoidable part of curb-to-curb plowing, Romines explained that plowing requires pushing the snow toward the curbs, and in spots where those curbs end, snow can fall from the plows.

“Operators are not deliberately directing snow into those places,” Romines continued.

The density of the fallen snow - and the even greater density of plowed snow - means shoveling will be difficult, Romines said. He advised people to use caution when clearing their sidewalks and driveways and asked people who are able to shovel to consider helping any neighbors who are older, live with a disability, or might otherwise have difficulty digging out from this.

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