City responds to winter weather

(TULSA, Okla.) City Hall and other City facilities will not open until 10 a.m. Wednesday. If changes need to be made due to worsening conditions, the City will send a media alert and post updates on City of Tulsa social media sites. Mission critical operations will operate as normal and snow and ice crews reported to work at midnight to respond to the winter weather event. The City of Tulsa is responsible for clearing snow and ice from the Gilcrease Expressway, L.L. Tisdale Expressway and all arterial (main) streets. Other highway segments in Tulsa are the responsibility of the Oklahoma Department of Transportation. The goal of the program is to make expressways and arterial streets safe and passable as soon as possible after snowfall or ice begins. These resources are available to attain this goal: 66 truck-mounted salt spreaders 4 truck-mounted LAS (Liquid Applicator Systems). We were able to add 2 more applicator systems to our fleet this year. 47 truck-mounted snow plows (Of the 66 trucks with spreaders, and 4 trucks with LAS, 47 have plows.) 7 4x4 pick-up trucks equipped with snow plows 3 motor graders for use as plows 170 employees (including drivers and support staff) Approximately 11,000 tons of salt 2 salt brine mixing systems Crews are assigned to 35 specific routes totaling 1,770 lane-miles, which is approximately the same distance as driving from Tulsa to San Francisco. Spreading and plowing routes are prioritized based on traffic counts. Once the main streets are cleared and conditions permit, selected residential streets may be treated based upon traffic and steepness. During winter weather response, the first focus is to clear city arterial streets for emergency responders. After arterial streets are clear, the second focus then moves to residential or collector streets near hospitals, schools and areas with steep hills. The following link includes every map and route the City uses for arterial streets, collector streets, schools and steep hills: www.cityoftulsa.org/winterpreparedness Motorists should follow at a safe distance from City snow and ice trucks and use caution. Follow the City of Tulsa for updates on social media, Facebook: City of Tulsa Gov, Twitter: @cityoftulsagov