Street Crews Continue Snow Cleanup

SIOUX FALLS, SD - As some parts of KELOLAND dig out from more than a foot of snow, the city of Sioux Falls is dealing with snow and sleet.  While it's only a couple of inches, the cleanup is quite an undertaking.

City offices are closed for President's Day, but city plows are out in full force.

"We haven't had a holiday off yet this winter," street/utilities manager Galynn Huber said.

Old Man Winter's impeccable timing has forced plow drivers to work around the clock.

"Started picking up around midnight," Huber said.

Sioux Falls didn't reach two inches until Monday morning, so the city waited to declare a snow emergency.  Once the decision was made, the full fleet hit the streets.

"It just keeps on snowing, I hate that.  I wish it would just snow in a 24-hour period, then we can go after it," Huber said.

Huber says it should be relatively easy to clean off the streets and get the couple inches of snow out of there, but it's home owners who will have to put a little muscle into it to get the ice off the sidewalk.

"I noticed if you get down underneath it yesterday, you could scrape it off.  But today, it's much harder," Dennis Thomas said. 

That thick layer of freezing rain and sleet is turning a quick cleanup into a long workout.

"Been at it about two hours already, and it's not fun," Jon Helm said.

We could see some melting later this week, but Monday, there's no way around the chipping and scraping.

"This time of winter gets long for everybody.  We're no different.  We would like to see it stop," Huber said.

But until then keep the shovels handy.

"I'm ready for a hot chocolate now," Thomas said.

Huber says he's hoping the holiday will help them when it comes to plowing. He says he thinks with people off work and school, they will hear about the snow emergency and move their cars.