Pittsburgh officials say 50 trucks still cleaning snow and ice

After a winter storm brought several inches of snow to Western Pennsylvania Sunday, Pittsburgh crews were still clearing roads and combating icy road conditions as of Thursday.

City officials said Monday that they had hoped to have all city roads cleared by Tuesday’s morning commute. Though many major roads seemed to be cleared by then, efforts to remove snow from neighborhood roads and smaller streets continued for days.

As of 6 a.m. Thursday, a spokesman for Pittsburgh Mayor Ed Gainey said that about 50 trucks were still dedicated to clean-up efforts and remedying icy road conditions.

Sunday’s storm dropped about seven inches of snow on the city into Monday, with minor snowfall in the days following. Pittsburgh Public Schools canceled classes and activities Tuesday while crews worked to clear streets and the mayor urged people not to drive on snow-covered streets if they could avoid it.

Since the storm, crews have driven snowplows and salt trucks for nearly 3,700 hours, officials said. Crews drove more than 5,500 miles for salting and over 4,400 miles for plowing, according to the mayor’s office.

Trucks dumped more than 3,550 tons of salt on the city’s roads — though officials said the salt levels may actually be up to 20% higher than that, as drivers have the authority to dump extra salt where they see fit.

Five pieces of snow equipment, including plows and salt spinners, are down for maintenance. Two more pieces of equipment have been repaired since Thursday.

Eight vehicles are out of commission for long-term maintenance.

Sunday’s storm marked the second snowfall since Gainey took office.

He has said he plans to bolster investment in the Department of Public Works and learn from prior snowstorms to improve the city’s response to future storms.