Lansing got about a foot of snow in this week's storm.  For most people that meant a day indoors where it was warm, hot drinks and perhaps a little shoveling.  While most of us slept Wednesday night the Lansing Highway Department crews were making sure that those of us who wanted to go to work Thursday morning could go to work.

"It takes about four hours to completely plow the Town," says Lansing Highway Superintendent Jack French.  "That includes the county roads in the Town as well.  The total is between 140 and 150 miles of roads."

About over 93 miles of those roads are Town roads, but the Lansing department also plows county roads within the town.  If you live on a state road you have to wait for a state crew to plow you out.

The Highway Department has to plow the roads whether the budget allows it or not.  Generally if the weather requires exceeding the budget reserve funds are transferred to cover the extra time.  But French says that despite the extra-long, frigid winter last year that this storm and whatever Mother Nature wants to throw at us through New Year's won't break the bank.

"We're fine.  We've got two more weeks on this year's budget," he says.  "Even with the storm I think we're going to be pushing it, but we'll be right where we need to be.  We won't have to make too much of a budget modification.  We had a fairly easy November and December.  That's helped a lot."

Last winter cost more than you might think.  While there were no huge storms, the little bits of snow during the longer than usual cold months added up.

"It was average snowfall, but it was a long, long cold spell," French notes.  "We never got that melt that we usually get in January and February.  It was just cold all the time."


At full capacity Lansing has eight plows on the roads plus a loader back at the salt storage building to keep the trucks stocked.  That includes six ten-wheelers, the big plows you see on the roads, plus a medium sized truck and a pickup that handles the Town parking lot and small roads.

Of 14 available men, nine go out when the snow really hits.  Two night men work from 10pm to 6am.  They are joined by seven more at 3am if needed.

Even with full crews Lansing spends less than it used to on plowing.  The Town used to send out two-man crews, including a driver and a 'wing man'.  French says that controls for the plow blades have been moved over from the wing man position so that they are close to the driver, simplifying the job and making it possible for one operator to man a truck.  That is good for the budget, but more stressful for the operators.

"Two trips and you're pretty tired by the end of the day," French says.  "It's more mentally draining than it is physically.  There is so much to watch out for."

The worst storm in French's memory was in 1993.  Four feet of snow fell in 70 mph winds.  That was tough for the Highway Department.  But plowing Lansing's roads is just a matter of getting it done.  The town owns a spare truck in case one has a mechanical problem.  Or slides into a ditch.

"Snow is not as bad as ice," says French.  "The ice is when it really gets bad.  We'll take the snow over the ice any day.  We have trucks go over on their sides when it's icy.  It's not good."

The bottom line is that the highway employees are experienced, and keeping Lansing plowed is just part of the job.  The Town owns an extra plow in case one breaks down, and even if another truck goes down it just takes a little longer to finish a full sweep.  For a storm like Wednesday's the plows will cover the entire town at least two or three times per day.

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