Winter storm blankets Marysville in snow

Temperatures dropped below freezing the week after Christmas and Marysville crews responded to icy conditions for about a week.

“The storm definitely brought colder temperatures than usual,” said Jeff Laycock, the city’s director of engineering and transportation services.

The cold caused snow to ice up quicker and stay on the surface of roads longer, he said.

“With the sun coming out the last couple of days it has been a little bit wetter and slushier, which is easier to plow and get out of the way,” said Laycock on Dec. 31.

The city began preparing for the snow event before Christmas.

“We had a crew assembled to go Christmas night and they began putting some anti-ice measures out then,” said Laycock.

They were able to fully staff despite the poor timing.

“Because of holiday weekend, we did have some folks who had time off but we still had enough people to staff our crew,” said Laycock.

Typically during a snowfall city crews have a 24-hour operation and that was the case during last week’s event as well.

“We typically scale back once we’ve seen improvement of the road conditions,” said Laycock.

The city used approximately 500 tons of sand/salt mix during the recent winter storm.

Their mixture is usually 20 percent salt, although there were times the city used a little higher salt mix during this storm in efforts to reduce ice patches.

Crews worked on 53 miles of primary snow removal routes and 22 miles of secondary snow removal routes.

The city plans for those routes ahead of time and has them posted at marysvillewa.gov/423.

“Those are arterials leading in and out of the city, connecting to I-5 or other major routes,” said Laycock.

“Also any road that fire and police use to access any of their facilities, those are routes that generally have priority,” he added.

Garbage services had to be canceled for a number of days across the city during the winter storm, although Marysville came up with a new option this year.

“The city has provided a drop-off site at city hall for those who feel a need to get rid of their garbage,” said Laycock. “I think it has been very well received and a good option for the public."

Marysville may continue with a drop-off site during future winter storms when necessary.

“That is something that the city may continue to support in the future when we have snow or ice events that last multiple days,” said Laycock.

Laycock thanked the city staff who worked through late December to help remove snow on Marysville’s roads.

“I’m really happy with the service we provided and the dedication of our crew,” he said.