Novi has snowplowing down to a science

NOVI — There is far more to snowplowing than meets the eye, and the city of Novi has it down to a science.

On the night of Dec. 9, a snowstorm hit the metropolitan Detroit area, with the city of Novi getting 4.5 inches of snow, freezing temperatures, and then a mix of rain and snow. But the city was already ahead of the storm, with drivers called in at 9:30 p.m., along with the Novi Note’s own Charity Meier, who went along for a ride. 

“We head out when everybody else is heading in because they don’t want to be in that weather. That’s when we head out,” said Matt Wiktorowski, field operations manager in the Department of Public Works. 

The field operations staff keeps a close eye on the forecast, with its office containing a live weather radar map and live camera footage of intersections in the areas that each route covers, in order to maintain the city’s roads for the safety of all who use them. 

During a snow emergency, the city utilizes the services of 11 salt and plow drivers to maintain segments of five routes.

According to Wiktorowski, winter road maintenance during snow emergencies incorporates both chemistry and environmental biology.

All Novi salt trucks are equipped with brine tanks; a salt-to-water ratio called a “liquid brine” is used to more efficiently scatter the salt and melt the ice. As the trucks travel along their routes, the brine is released onto the salt as it filters down onto the spinner and onto the roads. 

“It gives it like a liquid effect where the liquid pours on the salt, and it helps with, like, bounce and scatter, and it actually helps up the melting process, because if you throw like dry salt, it takes a little while. Because the majority of the stuff that gets rid of the snow is the brine factor,” said driver John Talbot. “So, when the salt hits the road, and if it’s dry, it is going to have a hard time getting to that melting process, but if you add like a little bit of water to it, it gets a little bit quicker process to where it can start that melting factor on the snow.”

This is known as pre-wetting, and the city uses this technique with every application. 

“The reason we do this is because salt does not melt snow. Brine melts snow,” Wiktorowski said. “And you want to give that solid material, salt — rock salt, a kick-start.”

Along with pre-wetting, the city uses two other types of liquid applications: anti-icing, which is 80% brine and 20% beet juice, and de-icing, where brine is dropped directly onto the roadway following a snow.

Roads are pre-treated with the anti-icing mixture if the dew point is going to be within 10 degrees of the ambient temperature to minimize road frost or if there is snow in the forecast, but the time of the storm is unknown, to buy the operators time. 

Wiktorowski said that de-icing is not used that often, but it is “a little bit more friendly to the environment.”  

He said that is typically done when it is 28-29 degrees, with sunshine and just a small amount of snow on the ground.

The amount of salt used by each truck varies depending upon the temperature, but it is typically 400 pounds per lane mile, Wiktorowski said. He explained that is because salt is less and less effective as the temperature begins to drop below 15 degrees, which makes it necessary to increase the amount of salt put down. 

According to Wiktorowski the city has been able to drastically reduce the amount of salt it uses thanks to operator training and because of his environmentally conscious staff. 

“Our operators, a lot of them are outdoorsmen and the last thing they want is their waterways or streams polluted by excessive salt brine,” he said. “Once salt is in water, it is never going away. It will dilute out but every pound of salt used in Michigan or any roadway agency, when you put salt down and it goes into the storm system and eventually makes its way into storms and rivers, that doesn’t go away. It doesn’t evaporate; that salt will always be there. So, year after year as you salt, you’re adding more and more and more. That salinity is becoming greater and greater, and it also has an impact on the wildlife and so on and so forth, so we just try to be conscientious of what we are putting down here.”

Talbot, of South Lyon, a second-generation city employee, has been plowing and salting roads for 27 years, 12 in Novi. 

“I enjoy what I do,” Talbot told the Novi Note while traveling back and forth on Grand River Avenue. “I like the fact that I work for a community I grew up in. I still have a ton of close friends that I consider family that live in the community. So, whether it be winter operations, doing sign work, doing road grading, or working on a water main break, I try to keep that in the back of my mind, that I want to provide the best service I can for the people that are here just because I care about the people here. Novi’s been a big part of my life from grade school on. So, I just try to do the best job that I can while I’m here.”

 According to Talbot, veteran drivers are responsible for maintaining the primary roads, while less-experienced drivers are usually responsible for routes that service secondary roads.  

During a snow emergency, drivers often work 12- to 16-hour shifts. During the recent storm, drivers didn’t finish clearing the roads until just before the morning rush hour, and then they had to start plowing neighborhoods.

The city’s field operations staff works along with the Police Department to maintain road safety. Talbot said that often at night they are called in at the request of the Novi Police Department. 

“Our discretionary measure for the majority is the Novi Police Department,” Talbot said. “So, they kind of make the decision on if it is warranted. Usually it is on them for after hours.  During hours, it is up to the leaders within the department.”

Wiktorowski said people are always amazed at just how long and complicated the process of snow removal is. He pointed out that there is a vast amount of electronics in each truck that the driver is responsible for operating in addition to monitoring the road itself. 

“I like to say that I don’t have operators. I have technicians, just because of the amount of things they need to watch,” Wiktorowski said. “You have a 2,000-pound car; these guys are trying to control 50,000-pound trucks. They’ve got two monitors, a joystick that they have to monitor as well as the outside of the truck. Where’s the plowblade? Both the wing and underbody, while you’re looking at the amount of material you’re putting down, both liquid and granular. It’s a huge amount of responsibility that comes along with it.”

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Novi snowplowing facts

•  The city has 200 major lane miles that are traveled by most vehicular traffic as well as emergency vehicles. 

•  The city has five snowplow routes that are divided among 11 drivers.

•  Roads are plowed or deiced 24/7 on an as-needed basis.

•  The city employs 32 drivers for its salt and plow trucks.

•  The city’s Water Department staff is cross-trained to handle snow emergencies if need be. 

•  The city averages only about 1.5 traffic crashes per event.

•  The city receives an average of 7.5 complaints per event.

•  The best thing residents can do to help the city’s plows is to make sure to park their vehicles in their driveways during a snow emergency. This allows the city’s plows to clear the entire street with ease. 

•  The city does not provide winter maintenance on Haggerty Road, Eight Mile Road, Napier Road, Pontiac Trail, 14 Mile Road and the freeways. Those roads are maintained by the Road Commission for Oakland County and the Michigan Department of Transportation.