Tuolumne County Snow Removal Policy
Sonora, CA — With the low-elevation snow, the Tuolumne County Public Works Department has put out a reminder about the local snow removal policies.
The information below is from the Public Works Department:
The Tuolumne County Public Works Road Operations Division would like to take this
opportunity to remind visitors and residents of the county about the basic snow removal
policies and procedures. Snow is a mixed blessing in that it provides residents and visitors to
the county the opportunity for winter sports and recreational activities, but it is also costly in
terms of snow removal for our county roads. Snow removal services on county-maintained
roads are performed by county staff.
Parking restrictions in the county right-of-way during snow removal season are strictly
enforced; your car will be towed. The county will not be responsible for damage caused by
snow removal operations of vehicles left in the county right-of-way.
No snow removal services are performed by county forces on private roads or County Service
Area roads. Private road residents are expected to provide service for their roads. Residents
on County Service Area roads are serviced by a private contractor to the county.
The State (Caltrans) provides snow removal services on State highways/routes such as SR 108,
SR 120, and SR 49.
The Department of Public Works offices are open Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to
4:00 p.m. and can be contacted at (209) 533-5601; the Public Works counter at 48 Yaney
Avenue, Sonora is open to the public Monday through Thursday from 8:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m.
In the event of an emergency on weekends, evenings or holidays please contact the Sheriff’s
Office at (209) 533-5815 or 911 who will then dispatch the Public Works Road
Superintendent.
With the current resources, Road Operations personnel can adequately handle most
snowstorms above 4,000 feet elevation provided low elevation issues such as downed trees
and flooding are minimal. With low snow levels and/or other problems, snow removalservice
can be lessthan adequate.
Resource constraints do not permit a “bare pavement” snow removal policy. Snow removal
will be accomplished by one shift, operating primarily during daylight hours. Ice control, and
limited snow removal may be provided during early morning hours, as resources allow.
Snow removal should begin as follows:
Normal Snow Removal Operations
– Normal snow and ice control operations are performed during an 8-to-14-hour shift.
– Snow control operations will begin when snow depths on the pavement accumulate to 3
inches during normal work shifts. Recognize that 4 inches ofsnow on your deck or in your
yard does not necessarily mean that there are 4 inches on the roadway.
– For snowfall outside a normal work shift, snow removal will begin the following shift.
– Crowding: once snow removal operations have begun, the county will continue to plow
snow, pushing it back to the road shoulders untilremoval is completed and in preparation
for additional storms. This practice ensures there is adequate space on the road shoulder
for any new snow. Unfortunately, the necessity to continue to push the snow back to the
shoulders of the roads after the storm is over could create additional berms at the end
of driveways that must be removed by the resident. We will attempt to complete this
crowding activity as soon as possible so the creation of additional berms is kept to a
minimum.
– Berms: during snowplow operations, a berm of snow is left in front of all driveways
which is the responsibility of the resident to clear. Please note, if you as a resident clear
the snow in your driveway into the roadway, it will be pushed back again just as it had
originally fallen. There is no discernment between fresh snow and shoveled snow into
the roadway.
– Snow may remain in parking areas for hours or days after the snowfall has ceased.
Prioritization for County Road Services
During a storm, main county roads and school bus routes have priority over other roads. Each
piece of snow removal equipment has an assigned route. The operators will start at the
beginning of their assigned area and plow until they reach the end of that area and then will
start back at the beginning. Complete clearing of local roads and cul-de-sacs is a last priority.
Priority 1 – County roads with a functional classification of major collector and arterial.
Priority 2 – County roads with a functional classification of minor collector.
Priority 3 – All other county roads normally provided snow and ice control.
Unless otherwise assigned, equipment and personnel will perform snow and ice control on
Priority 1 roads first on a county-wide basis, with the goal of Priority 1 roads being kept
passable to properly equipped vehicles. As conditions and time permit, plowing of Priority 2
roads will follow, and so on until all county roads normally plowed can be used by properly
equipped vehicles.
If conditions such as extended heavy snowfall, low elevation snowfall, reduced equipment
availability, lack of personnel or major problems elsewhere to the county-maintained road
system are present, a request for a declaration of a “storm emergency” may be made by the
Director of Public Works to the County Administrator/Office of Emergency Services. When a
storm emergency is declared, snow and ice control operations may shift from the regular
schedule to assist emergency responders.
Snow Removal Mileage by Elevation
• Snowfall to 1,400-foot elevation (Jamestown) can result in the need for snow removal
on over 900 lane miles.
• Lane mile = one lane, one mile in length and includes turning lanes, passing lanes and
similar appurtenances.
• Each lane mile usually requires two to three passes if the plow is to “crowd” the snow
off the traveled way.
• During an active storm, additional passes over each road are usually needed. The
average speed for a snowplow is about 12 mph.
• When snow is traffic compacted, numerous passes must be made by large plows or
motor graders to remove the ice.
De-Icing
Attempts to shave ice under freezing circumstances have proven futile and have the effect of
polishing the ice making it even more slippery. Normal ice removal will occur once ice has
thawed slightly.
Salting
When ice isso thick and frozen thatit cannot be cut with machinery,salting providesthe ability
to begin the breakdown of the ice. The hopeful outcome is the ability to then shave the ice in
layers with machinery. This process is very politically controversial and is used very sparingly
throughout the county.
Sanding
Roads will be sanded as needed after snowfall has ceased with a priority given to school bus
routes and majorthoroughfares. Please remember,sand is not a substitute for chains and does
not guarantee traction for tires.
Chain Sign Interpretation
California Department of Transportation provides the following interpretation of the Chains
Required signs:
• R1-Chains are required on all vehicles except:
o Passenger vehicle with mud/snow tires. Mud/snow tires must be installed on
at least two drive wheels. Chains are required to be carried by vehicles using
mud/snow tread tires.
o Motor trucks having an unladen weight of 6,000 pounds or less and equipped
with mud/snow-tread tires.
• R2-Chains are required on all vehicles except four-wheel drive vehicles having an
unladen weight of 6,500 pounds or less and equipped with mud/snow tread tires on
all four wheels.
o Chains for one set of drive wheels are required to be carried by four-wheel
drive vehicles using mud/snow tires
• R3-Chains are required on all vehicles without exception. Tuolumne County Ordinance Code Section 10.28 “Snow Removal” prohibits parking on the pavement or road shoulder during snow removal operations. There are signs posted on the roadways nearsubdivision entrances/exits, major collectors and minor collectors noting snow removal policies.
If you see a neon pink card, like the following one, placed on the windshield of your vehicle or
the door of your residence, it is because you have items in the right of way, i.e., vehicles,
basketball hoops, wood splitters, boattrailers or any other number of items. Snowplow drivers
cannot complete their plowing on a road if there is the chance they will not be able to turn
around at the end of the road or there are too many items in the path of the plow. Your road
may not be plowed under these circumstances.
Garbage cans are another item frequently hit or plowed under by snow removal equipment.
Cans should be placed well back from the roadway shoulder and ditch areas.
The Road Operations Division will attempt to keep all paved county roads below the 5000-feet
elevation open but severe storms may extend response time and residents/visitors may be
snowbound in these situations. Always be prepared.
