Lancaster County crews work to clear up winter snow

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) - Crews across southeastern Nebraska are cleaning up after a winter storm system dumped snow across the area. In Lancaster County, that means covering over 1,000 miles of road from gravel roads to subdivisions.

“We have really found that, that our overall operation is probably right at 40% to 45% more efficient with the way that we do it now,” said Pam Dingman, Lancaster County Engineer. “It’s a team approach.”

Before the storm, crews worked on prepping for construction, like trimming trees and clearing areas.

“We were back at it at 5 a.m.,” Dingman said. “And we’re really thinking we can get at least one pass by every road in the county before the end of the day.”

The county has a little more than 60 people who have been clearing roads for the last couple of days. When it comes to snow clearing, it’s all hands on deck.

“It does pull away from other operations, and even managers will go ahead and get in the truck,” Dingman said. “If we get to that point, we’re really trying to push through. We have some people that normally work in the office that are prepared to get in trucks.”

After months of little-to-no snow, the country’s budget, which encompasses all operations throughout the year, is sitting in a good place.

“So we’re excited about it, but I’m gonna say, you know, we could still have another four weeks of winter to deal with and now it seems like we’re in the cycle of moisture, which we need some moisture,” Dingman said.

Crews were able to finish all their work at 4 p.m. Friday afternoon. Initially, the county engineer thought it might take until Saturday to get it all cleared up.

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