The Van Buren County Road Commission is reminding residents about its procedures for keeping the roads safe and open during winter storms.
Van Buren County Road Commission Managing Director Bret Witkowski tells us clearing roads after a storm takes time, and even small events can create hazardous conditions due to wind and drifting snow. So, drivers need to be patient and keep at least 200 feet of distance from plows. He says when there’s snow coming down, the road commission will hit the primary roads first.
“There’s 37 plow routes and each person will hit the primaries and locals and neighborhoods,” Witkowski said. “So each person has a segment that most of the time we try to keep the same people in the same area.”
Primary roads include Red Arrow Highway, Blue Star Highway, and all roads with the “County Road” designation. But Witkowski says unlike many other county road agencies, the Van Buren County Road Commission will also plow neighborhoods.
“We try to always hit all the neighborhoods as part of the normal route. And the last snow was really heavy. And one of the things is a lot of mailboxes went down, but it’s not because we’re hitting them. It’s because the snow is hitting them and the posts are rotted out.”
Witkowski says when someone complains a plow destroyed their mailbox, the road commission will check, and often, it wasn’t their fault. He recommends everyone inspect their mailbox to make sure it’s sturdy. He also advises everyone not to park on the side of the road when the plows are active because that will just cause the parked vehicle to get blocked in.
Witkowski notes the road commission won’t be active 24/7, so drivers need to know the procedures and be ready for conditions.
