Deschutes County outlines plowing policy

The Deschutes County Road Department is responsible for the maintenance of more than 900 miles of roads. This does not include roads within your city limits.

During a county-wide snowstorm, there is in excess of 1,800 lane miles that county crews need to clear of snow in order to maintain traffic flow.

Deschutes County road crews first work to plow and clear arterial and collector roads (major roads that connect a county-maintained road to a state highway) as quickly as possible to ensure the movement of potential emergency vehicles.

Next, county road crews sand arterials and collectors, and intersections of roadways where vehicles need to stop; horizontal curves, roads with grades exceeding 10 percent, and bridges.

Local roads and subdivision roads (these are county-maintained roads in a subdivision that connect to arterial or collector roads) that are county maintained, are plowed next. These roads are the most time-consuming and most difficult due to many obstacles that usually exist along the roadside (garbage cans, cars, etc.).

Due to limited money and staffing, county road crews are not able to remove driveway berms after plowing is complete.

For more information about Deschutes County road maintenance, please call (541) 388-6581.