UPDATED, Jan. 8: Asheville receives dusting of snow, City offices open
Original post, Jan. 6:
Asheville’s Streets Division is ready for the snow! Asheville Public Works prepped all snow removal equipment this week and staff are ready to begin salting and plowing streets once accumulation begins.
All Streets Division trucks are equipped to double as plows and salt spreaders and ready to respond when the storm starts. The City has 4,000+ tons of salt on hand to treat roads. Salt spreaders are loaded and ready to go. Crews will begin pretreating roads in advance of the snow.
Our Streets crews will stay on the job around the clock as needed, to remove any accumulating snow, first from our priority one streets, then moving into secondary / neighborhood streets as the priority routes are cleared. Priority one roads are major routes needed for emergency response as well as streets where ART bus routes run. Streets crews will also remove snow on sidewalks in front of City-owned property.
The City’s Snow Mapper shows which roads are priority one.
The City of Asheville maintains approximately 4oo miles of roads, which translates into 805 lane miles. During snow events, Public Works removes snow from 180 centerline miles of priority one streets, 318 centerline miles of priority two streets, which adds up to about 400 miles, including 87 miles of NCDOT-maintained roads.
Priority one roads are major thoroughfares, such as those leading to the hospital needed for emergency response, and ART bus routes.
How much snow are we going to get?
The National Weather Service has issued a Winter Storm Warning to include Asheville from 7 p.m. Thursday through Friday. The Weather Service predicts the Asheville area will receive 4 inches of snow.
Find the National Weather Service forecast here.
ART bus service affected
Due to the snow forecast for Friday, Jan. 8, ART bus service will be delayed until 10 a.m.
Where to find emergency information
Visit BCReady for emergency preparedness information, such as a list of emergency supplies for a preparedness kit. Scroll down the page to find emergency numbers, such as who to contact if your power goes out.
For City of Asheville emergency alerts, register for AVL Alert at this link.
Code Purple called
The Asheville Homeless Coalition has called a Code Purple through Sunday, Jan. 10. Please encourage those who need shelter from the frigid temps to seek it! Here is a link to resources: http://bit.ly/3mhwy6R.
Avoid driving in snow
As a reminder, if you do not have to drive in snow, please stay off the roads, for your own safety and that of our first responders.