When it snows to the extent it did this last week, City of Newcastle crews discontinue many of their regular duties. Instead they deal with the impact of the snow.
City Manager Kevin Self said the Street Department put a lot of things on hold, and instead have been busy clearing intersections, and certain streets. They have been busy sanding locations, and clearing city property, and parking lots, such as those at the police, fire and emergency management facilities, and at City Hall.
Self said, “They have a lot to keep up with. They started Saturday morning, and have stayedbusythroughWednesday.” Their regular activities include road maintenance, clearingtreelimbsfromrightof- ways, working on their equipment, and other daily activities. These were put on hold.
Self said the City water and wastewater facilities managers usually try to prep in advance for something like this. He said the City did have a new water line freeze and bust at the sewer plant.
“This water line was located near an inflow,” Self said.
The line helps service an inscreen which stops trash and other items from getting into the system, he said.
Depending on how bad a storm is, Self said the City might shut down City offices for the safety of the employees. He said the City came through this storm alright.
