Snow Way Around It: Fargo Must Move Snow Piles

How Public Works Tackles Snowy Roads

FARGO, N.D. (KVRR) – Fargo has seen just under 15 inches of snow since Christmas creating a catastrophe for drivers and and the challenging task of clearing the roads.

When the city needs to remove more than a foot of snow, where is it all to go? The Fargo Public works crew is up for the task.

“When we do do snow removal and we’re working full force in the evenings like in the downtown area we can haul up to 400 to 500 truckloads of snow in an evening,” Fargo Public Works Service Manager Paul Fiechtner said.

This is how it works.

“What we’re doing is when we receive snow or a large amount of snow we work to clear it off the roadways and get the roadways safe, ready to go the next step. After that is we move into widening the roads so we’ll actually pull the snow off the boulevards to the edge of the roadway and we haul it out,” Fiechtner explained.

If your car is in the way, follow parking guidelines and move it or lose it.

“One thing we need to make sure of is that there are cars not in the way so our equipment can work and we can do it efficiently. What we do at night is we follow the parking restrictions. So tonight, Thursday night or technically Friday morning from 2 am to 7 am its no parking on the avenues,” Fiechtner said.

Twenty-seven vehicles parked in the way of snow removal downtown were towed to the city impound lot.

Once the cars are towed and the roads are cleared, the snow is taken to a snow pile know as Mt. Fargo which has been estimated at around 100 feet high in years’ past.