Plowing County Road??

[jyoutz]

My county road used to be on a school bus route, which meant that our road was plowed quite often. Since the kids that used to ride the bus not longer do so, our road is no longer plowed, like at all. We have had two separate snow events this winter. Each dumped about 6 inches of snow. For some, that's not a ton, for us, that's worthy of sending the grader down the road, which has yet to happen.

My county road is gravel, well, somewhat. Its mostly dirt with some old gravel they put down at least 10 years ago. Its about 3 miles long, with windy twists and turns and steep climbs. Everyone on my road has my phone number and call me when they inevitably end up in the ditch. Even when the road is plowed, they end up in the ditch. I am happy to pull them out using my tractor.

Here I am a few years ago pulling a truck out
View attachment 771827

Since we are no longer getting plowed out, at least in a timely fashion, I am considering running my tractor with my inverted snow blower down the road and back. What are your thoughts on this?

The county has been receptive of us doing our own road "maintenance" during the summer with washboard smoothing. We just cant use a steel blade for fear of sparking a fire, but they recommended dragging tires and chain link fence down the road. But snow removal might be pushing it?

I donno, just a thought. We are expecting another storm soon, that is forecast to dump about 9 inches in a few days.

It’s time to have a conversation with your county supervisor. Maybe also a signed letter from all residents on your road asking the county to maintain the road. You pay taxes and it’s time the county owns up to their responsibility for their road. I went through this for years and finally got the road paved and snow plowed because the residents kept doing as I described. Good luck and be persistent.

 

[nyone]

I would contact who ever is in charge of the road and ask them to properly maintain the road. If they cant do that I would ask for the contract to maintain that road monthly and get paid to do so. If they dont want to do that then contact all your neighbors and try to make it a private road.

 

[leonz]

My county road used to be on a school bus route, which meant that our road was plowed quite often. Since the kids that used to ride the bus not longer do so, our road is no longer plowed, like at all. We have had two separate snow events this winter. Each dumped about 6 inches of snow. For some, that's not a ton, for us, that's worthy of sending the grader down the road, which has yet to happen.

My county road is gravel, well, somewhat. Its mostly dirt with some old gravel they put down at least 10 years ago. Its about 3 miles long, with windy twists and turns and steep climbs. Everyone on my road has my phone number and call me when they inevitably end up in the ditch. Even when the road is plowed, they end up in the ditch. I am happy to pull them out using my tractor.

Here I am a few years ago pulling a truck out
View attachment 771827

Since we are no longer getting plowed out, at least in a timely fashion, I am considering running my tractor with my inverted snow blower down the road and back. What are your thoughts on this?

The county has been receptive of us doing our own road "maintenance" during the summer with washboard smoothing. We just cant use a steel blade for fear of sparking a fire, but they recommended dragging tires and chain link fence down the road. But snow removal might be pushing it?

I donno, just a thought. We are expecting another storm soon, that is forecast to dump about 9 inches in a few days.

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I ............

You are setting yourself up for real legal trouble.


Spokane County is setting itself up for huge lawsuits from anyone on the road including you as they have not declared the road you live on:

"SEASONAL USE ONLY NO WINTER MAINTENANCE"

AND POSTED IT AS SUCH ON BOTH ENDS OF THE ROAD AND AT EVERY INTERSECTION THAT CROSSES IT.

They also have to provide legal notice of this order in the local newspaper.

They have to maintain it the year round to allow the local fire department to access it to fight fires.

You and your neighbors should be contacting your home insurance companies as the insurance companies
will force them to plow the road if they do not cancel your home insurance first BECAUSE they could cancel
your fire insurance if the road is unplowed and there is a housefire if you and or one of your neighbors file a claim.

 

[Cougsfan]

Man, I think some of you guys should lighten up. In rural area like ours, there are miles and miles of roads. and not many people. The county has limited equipment and very limited funds and are forced to prioritize road plowing. I find that the people who demand that the county to be out their to plow there road first when the first snowflake falls are usually the one who ***** most vehemently about having to pay taxes.
Others who demand cash payment from their neighbors every time they do a neighborly service are not people who I would want as my neighbor. I have often cleared several my neighbors drives for free. And I often get surprises such as a gift box full of beef or an expensive set of thermal cups, as a token of their gratitude. To me me that is much more rewarding form of compensation.

 

[dodge man]

I understand counties have to plow a lot of roads and have to prioritize. The question is will they plow it and when? The biggest storm we had, roughly 2 feet of snow and bad drifting, the roads were all plowed at least one lane by noon.

 

[orezok]

Out here in the desert, there are thousands of miles of dirt roads with very small population. While the “roads” are dedicated to the county, many are not much more that 2 track cow paths in a 60’ wide easement. The vast majority have not been accepted by the county for maintenance. After a major storm, some become impassible and the county rarely does repairs. It is very common for individuals to maintain their own roads and I do that on my 1/2 mile frontage and for some of my neighbors.

I would NEVER think of charging others.

 

[Cougsfan]

I live in Whitman County, just South of Spokane. Our county has a population 47,000 of which half live in the City of Pullman. The county is responsible for 2000 miles of roads and 300 bridges to maintain and keep free of snow. It has a budget of $373,000 a year to not only remove snow, but to maintain the bridges and roads, fix drainage problems, maintain signage and anything else in regards to their roads. They not only don't have enough equipment to plow all the roads on a timely basis, they can't find enough people to hire to drive the equipment that they have. If we were to demand that all the roads be cleared to at least one lane by noon of the following day, quadrupling the budget would not be nearly enough funds. If a county commissioner evens hints at raising taxes, he would be voted out immediately. So good luck on pounding your fist on a County Commissioners desk.

 

[5030]

Being retired, I really don't care if our road is plowed or not and we live in a remote area. Our road commish has always sucked anyway. I do pull a number of vehicles out of the ditch every year but not for free and I let them hook up the snatch strap so if I pull something off (like their bumper), it's not my fault.

 

[leonz]

I don't know what to say, but with the BNSF as one of the largest
real estate taxpayers in Spokane county it seems like they should
be plowing more often, at least with a good 6 wheel drive grader
with a V plow and wing blade.

 

[Citydude]

I live in Whitman County, just South of Spokane. Our county has a population 47,000 of which half live in the City of Pullman. The county is responsible for 2000 miles of roads and 300 bridges to maintain and keep free of snow. It has a budget of $373,000 a year to not only remove snow, but to maintain the bridges and roads, fix drainage problems, maintain signage and anything else in regards to their roads. They not only don't have enough equipment to plow all the roads on a timely basis, they can't find enough people to hire to drive the equipment that they have. If we were to demand that all the roads be cleared to at least one lane by noon of the following day, quadrupling the budget would not be nearly enough funds. If a county commissioner evens hints at raising taxes, he would be voted out immediately. So good luck on pounding your fist on a County Commissioners desk.

Wow, our county road and bridge has a budget of over 7 million with close to 46000 people in the county. Your road and bridge needs to be commended on what they do with what they have.