While the recent weather has been unseasonably warm, this is the time of the year when city crews begin preparations for winter street maintenance.
The city will once again plow main roadways and hills when two or more inches of snow has fallen, but residential street and alleys will not be plowed until four or more inches of snowfall; this is the same policy that was first implemented in 2014-2015. This plan is flexible and does change based upon the projected forecasts.
The city will also continue to pre-treat roadways with a beet juice and brine mixture. After creeping up for several years, salt prices for 2024-2025 have declined approximately 27 percent.
Sidney has experienced two rather mild winters in a row with only eight events and total snowfall accumulation of 10.5 inches in 2022/2023 and nine events with a total snowfall accumulation of 15.5 inches in 2023/2024. Sidney’s 10-year average snowfall is approximately 17 inches and the average salt usage is 1,044 tons per year.
As city crews take to the roadways this winter, a weekly Snow Report, which details hours worked and overall costs to treat the roadways, will be included with the city manager’s newsletters.
