Bend targets downtown streets for snow removal

As Bend clears away tons of snow downtown, where’s it all going?

Not all that far, as it turns out.

The city Streets Department is removing snow from downtown streets in an effort to improve safety.

Department Director David Abbas said crews started work removing snow last Friday night, then took a break Saturday night, resuming the work Sunday and Monday nights and continuing the work Tuesday night as well.

With four dump trucks, grader, loader and backhoe, Abbas said the city moved around 250 truckloads worth of snow to a spot just off of the Parkway on Colorado Avenue.

While it’s a lot of work, Abbas said the main thing is making sure the streets are safe, as well as limiting flooding once the snow melts.

“There’s definitely the benefit from a stormwater aspect,” Abbas said “And part of that is getting it curb to curb, and getting rid of those big piles, and in that effort making sure that the storm drains are exposed and the water can get to them.”

Abbas said as the snow continues to melt, the drains around town should do their job to avoid flooding.

The spot where the snow is moved to is an ODOT right-of-way and gets the snow off of the streets.

But Abbas also said that location helps get work done faster.

The area was chosen “basically for its close vicinity to downtown,” Abbas said. “You know, for speed and efficiency, not trucking it clear out of town, but be able to take it to a close spot and get back and get another load in the shortest amount of time possible.”

Abbas said crews hope to wrap up the job by Wednesday morning. Then they may be able to focus on other spots such as bridges that may still need snow cleared.

He added that he’s thankful for the patience people showed during the storm as his crews worked as hard as they could to clear the streets.

Abbas will be giving an overview of the winter streets operations to the Bend City Council at their meeting next week to discuss what went wall and what can be improved in the coming years in regards to snow removal.