GREENFIELD — After several inches of heavy, wet snow had accumulated on Greenfield’s roads Thursday afternoon, more than 20 plow drivers for the Department of Public Works hit the streets in their trucks.
Among them was Jason Phillips, who maneuvered his green and yellow DPW dump truck around the west side of downtown, pushing snow to the edges of the roads and clearing it from intersections — his plow often coming within inches of utility poles and street signs. But Phillips knows what he’s doing — he’s been plowing the same route along Wells, Conway and Elms streets for the past 23 years.
Thursday’s storm, which began mid-morning and hit strongest in the afternoon, dumped about 6 inches of snow in downtown Greenfield.
“This is peanuts compared to sometimes,” Phillips said around 5 p.m., nearly two hours after the DPW’s fleet began plowing. “Sometimes it’s an inch or two an hour and it’s hard to keep up, especially on the side streets where there’s no place to put the snow.”
With more than 120 miles of roadway to maintain, DPW crews plow 21 different routes during the day and five routes overnight, according to Assistant Field Superintendent Mike Duclos.
“When snow falls, there’s a lot to do,” he said.
Several hours before the storm, another crew treats the roads with salt to prevent snow and ice buildup. Once at least 2 inches of snow has accumulated on the ground, the department sends out its fleet of plows, which stay out until everything is cleared.
Phillips said Thursday that he would likely be home by 1 a.m., at which point the overnight crew takes over to clear the downtown district and school and municipal parking lots.
“There’s always someone going through Main Street during the day, and then they clean it up good at night,” Duclos said. “When everybody sleeps, that’s when it all goes on.”
During snowstorms, DPW workers still come in for their regular 7 a.m. shift and prepare plow equipment throughout the day so it will be ready to go when the time comes.
When he’s not plowing for the town, Phillips maintains Greenfield’s ballfields, as well as two outdoor ice skating rinks during the winter.
“What people don’t realize is when I get out of here, I still have to go home and do my own driveway and then come back at 7 a.m.,” he said.
In addition to his primary route, he is also responsible for a secondary route consisting of 16 side streets. He starts working on those roads after he’s done his primary loop at least once. He also works in tandem with another crew member, who plows the center of the street ahead of him. Phillips follows behind and to the right, pushing snow to the side of the road.
The dump truck Phillip drives is also filled with sand, but he typically only uses that at intersections where cars are likely to get stuck.
Depending on the amount of snowfall, crews may have to return over the next few days to remove it from roads and parking lots. Phillips said another crew will also clear the town sidewalks after the storm is over.
For Phillips, the most challenging part of snow plowing is dealing with the public. He said people often blow snow from their driveways onto the roads as plows are trying to clear them. The trucks will inevitably push snow in front of driveways as they circle their routes multiple times, so Phillips said it’s best to wait until the storm is over to start snowblowing.
“I think the worst thing for me was somebody actually threw a shovel at the truck from their porch once,” he said, adding, “It’s not like we’re doing it because we’re trying to be mean. We’re trying to get it off the road.”