RIDDING STREETS OF SNOW PROVES SLOW GOING

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 17, 1993                   TAG: 9303170026
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: A1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium
RIDDING STREETS OF SNOW PROVES SLOW GOING
If you live on a Valley Metro or school bus route, then you were one of the lucky ones Tuesday as Roanoke continued to dig out from under the weekend's blizzard.
"They tell us those are priority right now," Doug Beard said from atop the city snowplow where he was breaking up large chunks of salt to be spread on streets to melt snow and ice.
Back streets, off the bus lines, got hit by plows and salt only sporadically. Which of those roads got treated was left up to individual plow and salt-truck drivers.
Beard explained that he treated nonpriority streets when traveling from one priority road to another. "You might as well do it while you're going through," he said.
Another plow driver, Edgar Hayes, said he too was hitting neighborhood streets off the bus routes whenever he could. Hayes said he particularly looked for steep roads that had not had much traffic.
Mother Nature had a hand as well in which thoroughfares were getting cleared. Temperatures in the mid-40s Tuesday made road conditions slushy on streets treated with salt.
But plows were hampered in clearing many of those roads - even with the warmer weather - because of packed snow and ice that had not softened.
Beard said snowplow blades were little help where packed snow remained: "I'll drop my plow, you know, and a lot of times it'll just bend over from the pressure."
Hayes said cars parked on neighborhood streets and homeowners who shoveled snow into the road also slowed street-clearing efforts. He said city crews would continue to work 12-hour shifts until back streets were passable.
About 80 plows and chemical trucks were in use Tuesday, Hayes said.
He estimated that school bus routes would be clear as early as this morning, or certainly by Thursday, unless the city was hit by more snow or freezing rain overnight. Forecasters were calling for freezing rain early this morning, changing to rain later today.
Still, traveling could remain tricky in places.
Bill Epperly, a truck driver for Overnight Transport Co., experienced just how tricky. Trying to avoid a car that pulled out in front of him on Hollins Road, he edged his rig to the side of the road and into a snow pile, where the truck jackknifed.
"I hit that snow and it just jerked the wheel right out of my hand."

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB