Rockland and Westchester highway crews gearing up for significant snow late Monday night into Tuesday
CLARKSTOWN, N.Y. -- Crews in the northern suburbs have already been working hard to prepare for the impending storm. They say the best thing you can do is stay off the roads.
There is a salt pile worth of envy in the Rockland County town of Clarkstown that gets used to treat more than 300 miles of roads. It will be needed starting in the wee hours of Tuesday morning. Those tasked with clearing our roads shared their biggest concerns about the approaching snowstorm.
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One last plow of 56 was readied for the storm. The rest stood poised to tackle the snow as it starts to stick in Clarkstown.
"It's kind of the calm before the storm," Supervisor George Hoehmann said.
Hoehmann said crews brined roads earlier Monday, serviced the trucks and went home to rest up for the long haul ahead.
"We know that we're going to have significant issues with the rate of snow," Hoehmann said.
One to two inches may fall per hour during the height of the storm.
"Our advice is stay off the roads and let our guys do their jobs," Hoehmann said.
In Yorktown Heights over in Westchester County, there was a flurry of activity at the salt pile Monday afternoon. Crews stopped by to pick up salt that will get put down once a half inch of snow sticks to the ground.
"The rush hour will be a nightmare," Highway Superintendent Dave Paganelli said.
Paganelli said his crews can handle clearing the 400-lane miles that will need it, especially if residents adhere to the State of Emergency declared by Westchester County Executive George Latimer that goes into effect at 10 p.m. on Monday.
"From 11 p.m. this evening until further notice, which will probably around 12 noon tomorrow, we're asking our residents to stay off the roads," Paganelli said.
Resident Chris Semal, who CBS New York caught up with on his way to buy salt, shared that crews can count on him do just that. He said his plans are to "stay inside, read a good book, just let nature fall where it may."
"I'm actually excited for some overtime," said Nicholas Bernard, a heavy motor equipment operator for the Yorktown Highway Department.
Bernard said he expects Monday night to be "interesting," adding, "Wet, heavy snow. It's gonna come down fairly quickly. It's just very difficult to keep up with."
Jaynee Becerra, who operates the newest ride in the fleet, the Avant, said she's up for the challenge of clearing the two miles of sidewalks that are bound to be covered by midday Tuesday with 6-12 inches of snow.
"I look forward to it," Becerra said. "I feel accomplished when I'm done doing the sidewalks and I see how clean they look, how safe they are for everybody. It makes me feel like I did my job to keep everyone safe."
In advance of the hard work crews will be putting in over the next 24 hours or so, a big thank you.