Snow and Ice FAQs
Snow plowing will commence with the accumulation of four (4) inches of snow. This amount may be modified if a determination is made by the County that warrants initiating snow plowing with less than four (4) inches of accumulation.
Arterials and Collectors (those carrying the highest volume of traffic) will receive attention first. The Snow/Ice Plan identifies priority snow zones and the process used to address snow and ice events on the county road system.
The application of sanding material shall be made only at intersecting roadways requiring the stopping of vehicles, horizontal curves, grades exceeding 8% and bridges.
State law, as well as the Board of County Commissioner's policy on the expenditure of the County's limited resources, prohibits the County from plowing Local Access Roads - which have not been adopted for County maintenance.
Arterial and collector roads (those carrying the highest volume of traffic) have the highest priority and will be plowed first within each snow zone. Once arterials and collectors have been cleared, local roads and subdivisions are plowed. For more information on prioritization, please reference the Snow/Ice Plan.
With over 900 miles of road to clear and thousands of driveways accessing County road facilities, the Road Department cannot direct limited snow/ice resources to the clearing of individual driveways and still provide adequate service to the clearing of roads and travel lanes. We apologize for the inconvenience that is created when berms are places across driveways. The Road Department does provide a medical exemption for elderly and disabled residents. Applications for a medical exemption may be obtained by contacting the Road Department at 541.388.6581 or road@deschutes.org.
No. It is the responsibility of the property owner to provide clear access up to the mailbox for the postal carrier. However, access clearing to mailboxes adjacent to the pavement or roadway edge may occur in clean up and widening work as time allows.
Only mailboxes physically hit by County equipment will be reinstalled by the County. Mailboxes knocked down by flying snow or slush will not be reinstalled by the County. It is the mailbox owner's responsibility to install and keep the mailbox and post in a condition to withstand side cast snow and gravel. Snowplow operators make every effort to avoid causing damage, but are not held responsible for substandard mailboxes or posts.
It requires all available resources to clear only the travel lanes. In the process of snow plowing, sidewalks may be covered. It is the responsibility of the land owner to remove such snow.
