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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, January 26, 1994                   TAG: 9401260093
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV-2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: RICK LINDQUIST
DATELINE: RADFORD                                 LENGTH: Short

WHAT IF IT SNOWS SOME MORE? CITY'S REMOVAL BUDGET IS CLEAR

The recent snow and cold snap has put a huge wrinkle in Radford's snow removal budget. City Engineer Jim Hurt told City Council Monday that city road crews have logged 2,460 work hours in response to ice and snow storms since Dec. 10.

He said the city has dumped 225 tons of de-icing chemicals and 250 tons of abrasives onto local streets.

All of that has pushed labor, equipment and materials cost into the stratosphere. Hurt said it's cost almost $48,200 so far, a figure that's way in excess of the city's annual snow-removal budget.

He also said the weather has taken its toll on the city's streets, where potholes have started to form. Hurt said he'd like to know about them as soon as possible so they can be filled.

Hurt told council his crews did manage to keep up with trash pickups during the bad weather, though some collections were put off a day or so.

Teachers at McHarg and Belle Heth elementary schools signed a letter of appreciation to Hurt's crew members for their "good work" in clearing roads after the snow.

by CNB