Removing snow and making roads safe in Marquette

MARQUETTE — Snow is a constant hazard for drivers in the Upper Peninsula, but many can handle it well. Although, roads can still be hazardous when snow drifts at intersections and crossroads are high above the road.

This can take away visibility from the drivers, and pedestrians crossing the walkways. The City of Marquette understands the issue at hand and has increased its workforce to be on top of the problem.

“We adjusted our scheduling to put larger crews out at night,” said Mike Angeli, Marquette City Manager. “We did this earlier than before so we could actually get ahead of that problem. I am not aware of too many intersections that are really bad just yet. As soon as we notice one or are aware of one we will be taking care of it immediately.”

With snow fall continuing to hit U.P., the City of Marquette is making sure they have space for large amounts of snow to be stored. Last year, the city was hit with over 200 plus inches during the winter of 2018-19. With the possibility of having another winter like that again, the city has made sure they are ready for anything.

“What we have is two or three places in town that we have accessed to dump snow,” explained Angeli. “During the course of this last summer we had identified at least one more large area for us to have room to expand. This would be for anticipation for a snowfall that we had last year or an even bigger snowfall. We just try to make do with what we have.”

The Marquette area has seen between 48 to 72 inches of snowfall so far for the 2019-20 winter seasons.