Page 12 - May-June 2021 Vol 39 No 1
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KNOX COUNTY By Lisa Hood Skinner
Public Works Departments:
When Icy Winds Blow, They Still Go
It wasn’t the Valentine’s Day Massacre, and well-choreographed teamwork … shifts. Administrative staff along with
but this year’s seemingly-unending ice and their crews DELIVERED. management continued to monitor
and snow event that plagued West and LEBANON weather in order to deploy crews,” he
Middle Tennessee beginning February said.
14 was called many things (some we For the Middle Tennessee city of
can’t publish, but some we can…) Lebanon, located in Wilson County 25 In total, Lebanon had twelve
miles east of Downtown Nashville, the employees assigned to snowplows and
The City of Lebanon Police event started out as rain, which quickly salt trucks, with two additional workers
Department called it “The Middle turned into ice as temperatures dropped. salting/removing snow from sidewalks
Tennessee Snowageddon.” After approximately a half inch of ice, at city-owned facilities. “Primary streets
snow began falling, accumulating up to were the main focus to remove snow
Collierville Public Works in Shelby five inches. and ice, to allow safe travel routes.
County said it was “one of the most Secondary and collector streets were
significant winter storms we have Lee Clark, General Services then focused on, along with public
experienced in over fifty years.” Administrator of Lebanon’s Public transit and city-owned parking lots,”
Services, said the preparation phase Clark said.
And Germantown officials in Shelby was critical as soon as weather forecast
County simply coined it “the snow predictions began coming into his Clark said he was proud of the way
week.” department. “Crews were instructed the workers “stepped up and played an
to fuel all snowplows and ensure important role to provide safe travel for
The frigid week of icy, snowy grapple trucks were ready. We also met our city. Everyone communicated well
conditions February 14-20 may seem with our heavy equipment operators and had a sense of accomplishment,
like a distant memory now, but officials to explain route assignments and knowing such a large task required a
in all three cities said the events team effort.”
bear testimony to the need for loyal
personnel, multiple states of readiness,
12 TPW May/June 2021
