Billings is actively clearing snow from the roads to ensure safe travel for everyone. Street and Traffic Division Manager Derick Miller shares that main and secondary roads are plowed, and private contractors are working on residential areas. With a 24/7 effort, the city aims to prioritize areas based on traffic and snow accumulation, ensuring the community can navigate safely.
BILLINGS, Mont. – With a pause in snowfall, the City of Billings is actively working to clear the streets to ensure safety and accessibility for drivers.
Street and Traffic Division Manager Derick Miller shared that the city has completed plowing on main and secondary roads. Crews are now focused on removing the center stacks of snow from the middle of these roads.
Miller explained the importance of this process, as it helps clear sidewalks and makes room for street traffic. “Right now the phase that we’re in is we’re hauling the snow off the main roads that are center stacked,” Miller said. “So, you can see the trucks behind me they get loaded with snow, we got a huge snowblower out in the street that loads it into the back of these trucks, they bring it over here and they dump it.”
For those curious about residential neighborhoods, Miller stated that the city has hired private contractors who began plowing over the weekend. These contractors are working through six different areas across town, starting with neighborhoods along Rimrock Road and ending in the Heights.
Within Billings city limits, many roads remain packed with snow. However, sanders are now making their rounds to improve road safety.
Miller emphasized that snow removal is a continuous operation. “It’s a 24/7 operation as soon as the snow starts — and doesn’t end until they get it all hauled away,” he said. Plow drivers work 12-hour shifts and receive assistance from other departments like Solid Waste and Distribution Collection.
Deciding when and where to plow is based on traffic loads and snow accumulation. “We just try to dictate that between traffic loads, where we’re seeing high traffic loads, low traffic loads, try to get downtown done before the week starts,” Miller added.
The city has finished plowing main and secondary roads and is currently hauling away snow buildup in the streets’ center. Private contractors are actively clearing residential roads by area.
Residents can find out which area they reside in and when plowing will begin by visiting the map on the city’s website.
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