Rapid City, S.D. (KELO) — Rapid City woke up to plenty of snow on the ground this morning.
As the shift to winter finally starts to hit, road conditions will be something to watch.
With how wide-spread Rapid City is, drivers need to be ready for everything.
“Rapid City has a large footprint. We have hills, we have a lot of major intersections, and our footprint spreads out considerably. So you can have different road conditions and weather conditions in east Rapid versus west Rapid and other different areas.” Communications Coordinator Darrell Shoemaker Said
The street crews in the city have been ready for over a month for this year’s snowfall.
“We pulled in our night crew three hours early to start treating and brining the streets at about 6:00 p.m. yesterday. Then the storm hit a couple hours earlier than they projected so we had crews in here at 3:00 a.m. to get ahead of the storm and get caught up before the morning commute,” Rapid City Street Superintendent Jesse Rieb said.
Crews would like everyone to prepare ahead of time and to slow down while driving in these conditions among other helpful tips.
“Clear off that car, make sure those windshields are clear of snow and ice. Clear off the top of the car and the hood so you don’t have a lot of brushback or brush back onto the cars behind you. Be mindful of that as well,” Shoemaker said.
These snow plows only travel at around 20 miles per hour, so drivers need to slow down and give them space to work.
“It’s icy out, visibility is not great. These trucks are large so you need to give some extra time, be cautious of your surroundings and you need to drive the conditions, not the speed limit.” Rieb Said
The street crews’ primary focus is on the mainlines, and once those are clear they will start to clear out residential areas throughout the week.
