Winter Operations

During or after a snowstorm, one road grader and one truck-plow are dispatched to each of the five road maintenance areas which make up the county road system. Generally, every road maintained by County Road and Bridge can be opened in one working day.

In addition, two smaller plows and a loader-mounted plow work the more populated areas around town and two sand trucks are sent out to sand identified danger areas, including hills, intersections and curves. This work continues for the duration of the storm.

After the storm system passes, graders typically wing-back and widen roads and all five sand trucks begin the chore of making the 340 miles making up the county road system as safe as possible. It generally takes a few days before sanding is noticeable over long stretches of road, and any further snow fall, no matter how minor, covers up the work and the process must begin anew.

School bus routes and turnarounds are given priority during winter storms, along with hills, curves, intersections and emergency routes.

During periods of sustained snowfall, even if the snowfall is relatively light, motorists must look out for themselves and each other. Please understand that the county has limited resources and a lot of miles of road to cover, making it impossible to keep up with Mother Nature! If you came here from somewhere with a larger tax base and better services, please remember why you came here! There's a bumper sticker that sums it all up; "You're in Idaho now ... CALM DOWN!"