ADA COUNTY, Idaho — When the snow starts to stick, Ada County Highway District (ACHD) snowplows come out in full force to keep drivers safe in Ada County.
With more snow on the way, ACHD is already making their game plan on how to clear the roads for the next snowfall - a plan that can often start before snow hits the pavement.
"It really depends on what kind of weather is coming in," ACHD Deputy Director of Maintenance Jennifer Berenger said. "Because we'll get out and pretreat the roads if the conditions are right."
Before they send out their 67 vehicles - 43 of which are snowplows, ACHD supervisors drive around the 5,300 lane miles they manage to assess what their operations will look like to tackle to road conditions.
"We have a priority system to make sure that the roads that are driven by the most number of vehicles get hit first," Berenger said. "As well as our hill roads."
ACHD has three priority levels when clearing roads.
They focus on clearing arterials and collectors. The main, highly-traveled roads like Fairview, Five Mile, and Locust Grove. They also prioritize overpasses and bridges, roads with more than a 6% incline, and roads around hospitals, fire stations and schools.
"When the snow continues to fall, all of our resources are going to be going toward those priority ones." Berenger said. "And then our schools are the priority two."
Those snowplows will make several passes to clear each lane.
"We're just battling it as it's coming," Berenger said. "If that snow is gonna continue to come it's a constant battle and constantly re-attacking throughout a storm."
A storm people may want to be prepared for. AAA Idaho recommends keeping an emergency kit in your car in case you get stuck in the snow.
"If you're on the roadside stuck somewhere, having those things can be super important," Matthew Conde, public affairs director of AAA Idaho said. "A flashlight with extra batteries, some kind of a tarp for if you had to kneel down on snow or wet surfaces to change a tire or look under your car. And of course, the extra clothes, the blanket, some kind of flares or reflectors to signal that you might need some help or that something's going on."
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