Winter snow operations: Keeping Lake Tahoe's roads clear

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - With hundreds of lane miles to keep clear each winter on the South Shore, its often a 24/7 operation by staff with the City of South Lake Tahoe, El Dorado County, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), and the Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT)

These agencies tasked with snow removal in the South Lake Tahoe, Meyers, and Stateline area are facing more than heavy snowstorms this season, many are also facing staffing issues.

Complaints about the berm along the length of US 50 and SR 89 in South Lake Tahoe flooded social media during the last storm. Caltrans is responsible for highways, so their crews clean both 50 and 89, first with plowing a lane so vehicles can move through, then following with removal of a berm in the middle of the highway.

Caltrans is staffed appropriately, moving crews from the west slope to Lake Tahoe if needed. The problem during the last storm was a lack of contracted trucking companies to move dump truck loads of snow from the highways to the snow storage yard on Sierra Blvd. in South Lake Tahoe.

"Unfortunately, we lost eight trucks to other jobs and we had about 2,500 loads to haul out," said Steve Nelson, press information officer for Caltrans District 3. "I don't anticipate the situation to be much better this week with the forecast we're seeing and it being a holiday week. Our first priority is, of course, to clear the highway travel lanes and then work on the berms. We're doing the very best we can."

Caltrans District 3 is responsible for snow operations on approximately 1,330 lane miles of highway over ten routes in six counties. For the 2021-22 winter season they have approximately 626 employees (215 of which are seasonal) who provide 24-hour coverage during storms. Not all of their staff remove snow as some work chain controls and other tasks.

On US 50, Caltrans utilizes 74 pieces of equipment, including snow blowers, motor graders, sander units, plows, pusher trucks, and campers. They also clear I-80, SR 20, Truckee North, and Tahoe City where another 187 pieces of equipment are used during snowstorms.

In the City of South Lake Tahoe, all positions for snow removal operations have been filled according to Lindsay Baker, assistant to the city manager and PIO. This includes 14 maintenance technicians who are involved in snow removal operations and maintenance and five seasonal employees for snow removal.

The City has 260 lane miles of roads to maintain.

When they do work on the streets during snow events, gates on the snowplows will typically be lowered at driveways unless it is a Category 5 snow event which is 36"-72" of snow. The significant snowfall would spill over the gates if used and their first duty is to clear streets for safe travel. It’s possible the gates would not be used in a category 3 storm (24”-36”), depending on the nature of the precipitation, added Baker.

The decision of gates or no gates is not relative to staffing.

Over at El Dorado County, it is staffing that kept many residents from having their roads plowed for up to three days after the last storm. The County has divided the roads they maintain in Lake Tahoe, one is in Tahoma, nine in South Lake Tahoe/Meyers (outside of City limits).

During the last storm, they had a fully staffed daytime crew but only had two on the night shift so they operated plows on main arterials only. There are openings, but nobody is applying according to Brian Mullens, the deputy director of Maintenance and Operations at the El Dorado County Department of Transportation (DOT).

"It's a constant rotation with some positions open over a year," said Mullens.

Mullens said they are being left with little veteran experience on the roads. To be hired one needs a Class A or B to run plow equipment and they start at $23.27 an hour.

To help, DOT has rented houses in both Tahoma and South Lake Tahoe to house crews. They bring up drivers from the west slope and Mullens said many of his crew live in Nevada due to the cost of living at Tahoe.

There are three seasonal new hires starting before the end of the year and that will help some, said Mullens. In the past, it was an aging fleet of snow removal equipment that caused the slower response to plowing all roads they are responsible for, but after the Board of Supervisors approved new pieces, that is not the case this year.

It is staffing.

DOT will come back if the gates of a plow are not dropped and clean it up as the dropping of the gate lessons the berm. Mullens said he had many calls during the last storm but most of those calls were due to the amount of snow and the gates not being able to stop the large amount of snow that dropped.

"The gate can only stop so much snow and it boils over," said Mullens.

The nine zones maintained on the South Shore are all plowed with equipment making right turns - the most efficient way to plow according to Mullens.

The Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) takes care of 150 lane miles within and leading up to the Tahoe Basin including the Mt. Rose Highway, Spooner Summit, and Kingsbury Grade.

The NDOT highway maintenance crews work in staggered shifts for 24-hour snow removal throughout storms. They conduct avalanche control near the Mt. Rose Highway and will close the road so crews can clear snow.

NDOT is able to plow the snow to the right and not leave a berm due to far fewer businesses, residences, cross streets, and sidewalks along the roads they maintain.

Besides snow, all of the crews with these agencies must also deal with downed trees and power lines, abandoned cars, mailboxes placed too far into the roadway and other obstacles.