Plowing County Road??

[Avenger]

I'm not complaining about the county, taxes, commissioners, etc. Though, for what we do pay (Mead), I probably should complain! But thats not here or there.

I do like the snow plow idea, preferably on a truck. It would certainly take less time. But I don't have a truck, or a plow. I have my tractor and a snow blower. I would be hard pressed to convince the finance department (wife) to spend money on a plow truck to plow the county road, especially since I dropped a few grand last year on the blower!

My concern is the liability. I do have a beacon on my tractor, so hopefully people would see me before plowing into me. I'd keep the snow off people's property and into the ditch. Hopefully I'd be able to do a better job than the county could with their grader.

I'm also concerned about the county coming down on me. I don't want to go to them to ask for permission. I'd rather beg forgiveness.

Also, I'm not offering to plow the road for every snow event. Just the big ones, so my wife can get down the road and back up with the kids in the car.

Anyway, thank you for the responses. Its always great to get others point's of view on such matters. Personally, I don't think I will do this, but who knows, I might be out doing my drive way, and simply decide in the moment to keep going to the highway.

 

[Gee Ray]

If you already have a beacon on the top of the tractor add the slow moving vehicle triangle. You have every legal right to drive a Tractor down the road. Make sure to turn your lights on also.

As a kid in Ohio we plowed the county road and mowed the ditches because the county just didn’t do it. Never asked for permission. We even used to put down our own dust control until the county finally paved the road.

 

[JJT]

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.

$373K for 2000 miles of road? Our town is responsible for plowing the town and county roads, 150 lane miles, (75 miles of road) with a budget of $700K. We also mow the shoulders of the town and county roads. County road paving and maintenance and bridge repair fall on the county. The town maintains the town roads and bridges, with a 12 year paving program. Every town road gets paved every 12 years. We paved our last dirt road a few years ago, we're now 100% paved, which makes maintenance and plowing a little easier.

We have 4 plow routes, each taking ~3.5 hours to plow and sand. We run each 10 wheel truck with a single driver, no wingman and the driver is responsible for loading his own sand/salt, (a full load lasts about 2 hours). We've had snow storms where the guys were on the job for more than 24 hours straight.

 

[jyoutz]

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.

The legal distinction is if the road is an official county road with a county number. If so, they are legally responsible for maintenance to provide year round access, unless it is posted for seasonal use only. I’d be willing to bet that the roads you refer to are not official county roads. Maybe BLM, state, or private?

 

[grsthegreat]

Here in north idaho most city roads barely get plowed. No money available to maintain this many miles of roads. Most are clean agter 4-5 days after major snow event, but not always. I had a rental house in middle of Coeur d alene, and the roads were not plowed once all winter. Made driving very hard.

our county roads are better maintained than city roads.

 

[Gordon Gould]

Don't give them a reason to abandon the road, you maintaining the road gives them a reason to start ignoring it. You pay enough in property taxes that the road should be cleared timely. Send your highway superintendent a certified letter complaining, the road will get the attention it needs. This is a public safety issue.

On the other hand if you want the road abandoned, get the neighbors on-board and simply ask the county, they will comply.

Interesting point ???????????

gg

 

[pokey1416]

I agree on a nice heavy back blade. It can be expensive to invest in front snow blades. I have a pusher but I can only push so far before, I have to unload off the shoulder somewhere.

Sounds like you’re just plowing to get your wife out!

 

[ArlyA]

Gee, here in our little town on the south shore of superior, the City moves snow off the roads ASAP. Seems the township is slower but everyone here is used to snow since we average over 200" per year. My spouse drives to her job a few miles way and over a bridge which crosses three different road authorities And rarely has snow greif.

 

[grsthegreat]

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.

I have plowed out lots of neighbors over the years, but some are plain nasty. I had one guy that i plowed out for 2 years for free (never even offered me a candy bar much less fuel money) call and scream at me because i didnt plow him out early enough after a bad storm. After he unloaded on me i let him have it. Hardly ever spoken to him again. Sometimes being neighborly doesnt help.

 

[Bendboater]

You probably have similar snow (dry) to us here in Central Oregon. And sometimes, on the bigger snow events, the county doesn't have the time to get out here either. Usually there is enough traffic that the road gets packed down within a day or so. But if I felt that I needed/wanted access, I would plow their road it in a heartbeat .... if I could. I don't have a snowblower so I can't comment on their use. All I have is a rear blade turned aound backwards and Edge Tamers on my loader bucket. The rear blade seems fairly fast to me though if there were were several feet of the white stuff, I would probably be out of luck. Personally, I would probably dig out the neighbors approaches to their driveways and, if they didn't have a tractor, I would probably plow their driveways too (love brownies and cookies). I realize you don't have a rear blade, but they aren't very expensive as compared to many other implements.