Columbus road crews continue storm cleanup

COLUMBUS, Ohio (WCMH) -- Franklin County's snow emergency is over but there is still plenty of work to be done when it comes to the holiday weekend storm.

The city of Columbus is still working Tuesday to clear the city’s streets, focusing mainly on getting the slush off the roads to prevent a refreeze.

“You know what? I was hoping by four days later, five days later, it would be looking a little bit better, but definitely not,” said Harrison West resident Jack Staples of Michigan Avenue. “So a little bit of bummer.”

Staples says with all the slush, it’s challenging to drive on the street.

“It’s a tight road, too, so barely three or four cars can fit,” he said. “So, when both cars are going both ways, it’s sticky for sure.”

Columbus city road crews are still hard at work regarding storm treatment.

Charles Newman, with the Columbus Department of Public Service, said crews will focus on slick spots.

“For the most part, we’re confident that we’ve hit at least between 95 and 96 percent of all the streets in the city, to see a plow at least once throughout the event,” he said.

Tuesday is the first day since the storm started Friday that snowplow drivers won't be working 12-hour shifts.

Newman said the department is keeping an eye on the temperature, working to avoid any slick roads or icy intersections.

“We do have our crews on standby if it does freeze, if we need to do another pretreatment to get those out, but we’re expecting, with higher temperatures by the end of the week, in the 50s and staying around the 30 mark, we should be in good shape on our roads,” Newman said.

Staples said he's lucky he has a four-wheel drive vehicle if he does need to travel, but still hopes to see road crews make it to Michigan Avenue for a touch-up.

“I definitely would like for somebody to come through, put some salt on the roads for safety concerns and stuff,” he said.

Newman says the best way to alert the city to any slick spots is to report them to 311.