CLARKSVILLE, TN (CLARKSVILLE NOW) – After the past weekend’s layered “lasagna” of snow, sleet and ice accumulation in Clarksville, extreme cold has complicated, and at times delayed, efforts to clear the streets in Clarksville. Despite the challenges, salt trucks and snow plows have been working around the clock.

Here are some notable numbers from this week’s winter storm, according to a city press release:

700: Miles of City of Clarksville streets being cleared.

Tons of salt used in winter storm

9,000: Tons of salt expected to be used.

Having anticipated the brewing winter storm based on several days of National Weather Service reports, crews began pre-treating streets with brine on Thursday and Friday, said David Smith, director of the Clarksville Street Department.

Beginning at 4 a.m. on Saturday, crews transitioned to spreading rock salt on primary streets and some “high-hazard” secondary streets.

A Clarksville Street Department truck, fitted with a salt box, is ready to roll if ice begins
to hit area roads. A salt box ready to be placed on another truck hangs in the next bay
at the Street Department equipment garage. (City of Clarksville)

$1 million: Approximate cost of 9,000 tons of salt, spent in the Street Department’s budget.

“Long-range weather isn’t predictable, so we buy some salt every year. But we have more than we typically use on hand, in the event of a severe weather event. Depending on what was used the prior year, we might buy between 2,000 to 3,000 tons, annually,” Smith said in the release.

| MORE: For road conditions, click here for live Clarksville traffic cameras

Employees working round-the-clock

65: Street Department employees who worked round-the-clock to clear roads from 4 a.m. Saturday through Sunday night.

“We sent part of the crew home to rest in lieu of sleeping on a cot another night. We’ve kept crews on, overnight, every evening, but have been cycling rest periods,” Smith said.

5,036: Total man hours used so far for road clearing.

Equipment and fuel used in winter storm

32: Street Department trucks, along with a dozen pieces of equipment, ranging from skidsteers to backhoes and loaders, being used to clear roads.

6,000: Gallons of diesel fuel used so far.

| MORE: Snow closings: CMCSS, APSU campus closed for rest of week

Why has this storm been so hard on ice removal?

For this unusual winter storm, the effects are lingering, and roads are still dangerous.

“We typically see freezing precipitation that transitions to snow, but this was reversed,” Smith said. “This, plus cold temperatures, including one night when the wind chill was 20 degrees below zero, has led to the diminished effectiveness of our rock salt and plowing efforts.

“We need the roads to thaw so that we can effectively plow, and remove the ice that has been packed in the extreme cold. If we had started to plow too early, we’d only be removing the salt from the top of the icy accumulation that we’re attempting to melt,” Smith said.

“Our Clarksville Street Department, closely supported by the City Garage, are working very hard in extremely cold, and often-dangerous conditions this week, and I greatly appreciate their uninterrupted commitment to making travel safer for everyone in our City,” said Mayor Joe Pitts. “They are tired, and have faced bitter-cold temperatures that require of us all, a lot of added patience in the process of snow and ice removal on the streets and highways.”

The Street Department maps its pre-planned, routine strategy for snow removal routes, for the public to view and reference. Here is a link to the map: https://arcg.is/ne8eC

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