Snow on Court Street is loaded into a dump truck to be hauled away Sunday.
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — As temperatures crept above freezing on Sunday following the weekend’s torrential snowfall, those who live in Charleston’s flats might have been better off waiting for Mother Nature to help melt the snow off their roads.
More than two days after snow began to fall on Friday, Charleston Public Works Director Gary Taylor said the roads along the city’s hills remain the top priority for its plows and salt spreaders.
“There are still some streets on the hills we haven’t been able to get into yet,” Taylor said. By mid-morning Friday, there were already vehicles stuck and blocking plows from accessing roads. A few were abandoned by their owners, so the Street Department had to tow them, he added.
“Anytime someone abandons their vehicle, it impedes us from being able to clear the street,” he said. “We didn’t want to tow anybody.”
Two of the department’s own trucks became stuck atop two hills overnight on Saturday — one on Kearse Avenue and the other on Stadium Place. With a contractor on standby, the department was able to pull both trucks out by Sunday morning.
Taylor said despite its best efforts, the Street Department isn’t prepared to handle this much snow…