How Westford Public Works keeps town running during snow

WESTFORD — More snow and sleet is in the forecast for Friday, with the National Weather Service in Boston/Norton issuing a winter weather advisory in effect until Saturday morning, as three to six inches of snow and sleet are possible across Middlesex County.

So far, this winter has been one of the snowiest and coldest winters in both Westford and Massachusetts in over a decade.

Several consecutive snowstorms hit the region throughout January and the past few weeks of February, with just one of them dumping over 17 inches of snow on Westford.

Along with the storms have come frigid temperatures, with lows dropping down to the single digits for several weeks this winter.

Due to all the snowfall in town, the Public Works Highway Department has been working extra hard to make sure that streets, sidewalks, hydrants and public parking lots in town are clear of snow.

Town Manager Kristen Las noted last month that public works, facilities and other town staff logged more than 50 hours responding to the prolonged snowfall and extreme cold.

WestfordCAT recently spoke with David Smith, operations manager for the Highway Department, who explained what it takes to prepare for and manage a snowstorm.

“Once we establish that we are in fact going to get snow, we have to look at the temperature, the day of the storm, the day leading up to the storm, the day after, and then come up with a game plan on how we are going to actually attack and prepare,” Smith said.

Smith explained that the Highway Department has been working around the clock to ensure that streets are salted, brined and plowed.

“Once we’re sure that we have all the equipment that we need to perform the job, depending on the temperature, we start brining,” Smith said. “That is a substantial saver to the town if we’re able to put out brine. But it all depends on the temperature and humidity and actually what we’re predicting for snowstorms.”

Smith also showed WestfordCAT where the snow plows, loaders and salt and brine trucks are stored, as well as the department’s vehicle maintenance and cleaning facilities and where the salt trucks are loaded.

According to Smith, Westford has one of the best public works facilities he’s seen in Massachusetts. He also said Westford has enough salt supply that they have helped other towns like Harvard by offering them more salt when they ran low.

Smith said over 200 loads of snow were moved from Westford streets during the Jan. 25-26 snow storm, which dropped 17 inches in town.

He said his crews often work through the night to keep the roads safe and clean, and while he applauded Westford residents for their patience as roads are treated and cleaned, he said the most difficult part of the job is making sure people stay safe .

“The best thing people could do is just stay off the roads,” Smith said. “Residents were really cooperative last storm, there was no traffic out there. Traffic makes it very difficult for us to perform our jobs, but it worked out quite well last time.”