Louisville is Ready for Snow!
The Louisville Metro Snow Team – Louisville Metro Public Works, Solid Waste Management Services, Metro Parks and the Metropolitan Sewer District - has 293 employees and 169 pieces of equipment to clear 1,362 miles of road in Louisville.
The Snow Team has added new snow fighting equipment and will treat more roads than ever before.
· The city has purchased 36 new vehicles, including 8 new brine distributors, to maintain an additional 315 miles of state highways that have been incorporated into the snow plan. As part of a new agreement with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Louisville crews now maintain most state roads and highways in Louisville. While the state will continue to clear interstates, the Louisville Snow Team will take over roads like Breckinridge Lane and Beulah Church Road.
· More brine routes have been added -- from 700 miles to more than 900 miles. Those routes are major thoroughfares like Shelbyville Road and Dixie Highway. It’s important to pre-treat the most heavily traveled roads as soon as the forecast calls for snow. Crews will use IceProof in the brine mixture, which allows them to apply brine to roads even when the temperature drops to single digits.
· Public Works will add crews to its night shift for snow operations and pothole repairs. Overnight workers can begin treating roads without having to wait for workers to drive in from home. On evenings without snow and ice, crews will repair potholes and road cracks that create potholes – that means fewer repairs during heavy drive times and a significant savings in overtime pay for taxpayers.
“When winter weather threatens our city, keeping people safe on our roads is our top priority,” Mayor Jerry Abramson said.
Interactive Snow Map
You can find out which streets around you are cleared during a snow event and get live updates on street clearing progress from the comfort of your own home. Check progress in your area now.
Pot Holes
If you would like to report a pothole, you can do it online. Just use MetroCall 311's online reporting tool here.
How the Snow Map Works
During an ice or snow event, Louisville Metro is busy clearing streets around our community. You can view street cleaning progress in the comfort of your own home.
Map and View Which Roads are Cleared Near You!
The Louisville Jefferson County Information Consortium (LOJIC) and Metro Public Works have created an interactive snow routes map. It allows you to enter an address to see the routes around you that will be cleared during a snow or ice event. Those routes are displayed as blue lines on the map. (See top 10 questions below to find out which routes are cleared and why.)
When the routes have been pretreated, salted or plowed it will be reflected on this map as different colored lines representing the type of treatment applied. You will also be able to view information about the number of times a route has been treated and when it was completed. Just click on the Snowflake Information tool in the left tool bar of the map.
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is responsible for clearing the interstates, expressways and highways. State routes are denoted by bold black lines.
The map has a legend on the left that allows you to:
Also see:
State Snow and Ice Removal Plan
State Priority PDF
Questions about Snow and Ice Removal
How do I find out if my street is part of the snow plan? You will find a map on our website that allows you to type in the address of your home or business. You can then zoom in or out to find city snow routes in your neighborhood.
What roads are part of the Louisville Metro snow plan? Snow coordinators in Metro Government review the snow and ice removal plan each year. Some routes are added and others are subtracted, but the goal remains the same – to make sure our city keeps moving and our residents can get to school, work or the hospital. The city clears about one-third of the 3,000 miles of roads in this community, which includes major thoroughfares, school routes, hospital routes and arteries that feed major employers. Another third is cleared by the state, small cities and private contractors, and the remaining third is neighborhood streets that are not cleared. New this snow season: The city will maintain an additional 315 miles of state highways that have been incorporated into the snow plan. As part of a new agreement with the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Louisville crews now maintain most state roads and highways in Louisville. While the state will continue to clear interstates, the Louisville Snow Team will take over roads like Breckinridge Lane and Beulah Church Road.
What should I do if my street is not part of the snow plan? If your street is not part of the snow plan, check with your neighbors or homeowner’s association to see if a private contractor may be an option for your block. Generally, this is not an issue for most residents because ice and snow melt before crews can clear neighborhood streets.
Does any large city clear all neighborhood streets? Neighborhood streets are not part of the Louisville Metro Government snow and ice removal plan. Our snow coordinators report that no other community in the country the size of Louisville clears all neighborhood streets – it’s too cost prohibitive. If the mayor declares a snow emergency, personnel from the Louisville Metro snow-fighting team will clear neighborhood streets after all major thoroughfares are passable.
Who’s in charge of snow removal? Louisville Metro's snow-fighting team is comprised of Public Works, Solid Waste Management, Metro Parks and the Metropolitan Sewer District.
Why don’t snow removal crews lift their plows when they encounter driveways? We have four different agencies responsible for clearing 1,047 miles of road in Louisville. If our drivers lifted their plows at every driveway, it would limit their efficiency and greatly reduce the miles of roadway our crews could cover.
What are crews doing when they’re driving in the snow without their plows lowered? Many of our brine distributors and salt trucks are also equipped with plows. So, if you see our trucks in your neighborhood and the plow are not lowered, our crews are likely treating roads with salt or brine. Conditions on roadways can sometimes deteriorate if a snow-covered road is plowed – the pavement may become coated with a compacted layer of ice.
Who is responsible for clearing parking lots? City crews are responsible for clearing government-owned parking lots. Local business owners will require the services of a private contractor to clear their parking lots. The city asks that private contractors refrain from covering fire hydrants and depositing plowed snow in the streets.
Who is responsible for clearing sidewalks? Louisville Metro Ordinance 97.113 requires business owners to remove snow from sidewalks surrounding their property within 24 hours of a storm. The city does not clear sidewalks.
Snow and Ice Removal by the Numbers
Approximately 3,000 miles of roads in Louisville:
- 1,362 miles cleared by Louisville Metro Public Works
- 722 miles cleared by state of Kentucky
- 1,000 miles are neighborhood streets and less-traveled roads that are not cleared
- Some roads cleared by small cities and private contractors
First roads cleared:
- main thoroughfares
- school bus and TARC routes
- hospital routes
- highly-traveled secondary roads with hills or curves
- connectors to major businesses or factories.
Four Louisville Metro agencies responsible for snow removal:
- Public Works
- Solid Waste Management Services
- Metro Parks
- Metropolitan Sewer District
293 employees from four agencies coordinate snow removal
169 pieces of equipment in the Louisville Metro snow-fighting fleet:
- 23 brine distributors; each holds 1,600 gallons of brine
- One brine maker, which produces 5,000 gallons of brine per hour
40,000 tons of salt available for treating roads:
- 15,000 tons of salt on hand at 7 storage facilities, including 4 domes
- 25,000 tons of salt stored underground for emergency reserve
- 3,000 tons of salt to be delivered later in the season
18.1 inches – average yearly snowfall in Louisville.
15.9 inches - record 24-hour snowfall (January 16, 1994)