Let it snow: City plow drivers are ready, raring to go when flakes fly

When heavy snow begins to fall, Longmont’s snowplow drivers show their dedication to helping residents get from point A to point B. 

The city employs 41 snowplow operators who clear the streets during snowstorms. Additionally, the city employs 20 staff members whose job it is to keep walkways and greenways clear, said Matt McKenzie, city transportation system maintenance manager. 

These unsung heroes work long hours when storms are really big, such as the snowstorm that hit Longmont on Thanksgiving 2019. This overnight storm blanketed the city with an estimated 14 inches of snow.  

While this year’s snowfalls have not surpassed the foot-or-more mark, Longmont’s snowplow crew is ready to tackle any storm.  

When a snowstorm is expected, the snowplow team spends the day preparing by readying the plows. The trucks are used for road maintenance in the warmer weather and double as plows when snow falls. So the crew must add the plows and sanders to the trucks, said Jesse Cordova, a city snowplow technician. 

After the trucks are fueled up, the crew add deicing material that will later be laid onto the roads and wait for the storm to begin. Once the flakes start to fly, the crew sets out to clear collector and arterial roads.

“Collector roads move traffic in/out of neighborhoods (local streets) and provide access to schools, hospitals, and other local destinations. Collectors also funnel traffic to arterial roadways. Arterial roads provide access to destinations across town (east-west or north-south) or to transportation networks outside of town,” according to the city website.

Matt Ream, a longtime Longmont resident, has worked for the city for the last five years and has been driving a snowplow for 14 years.  Ream said he was inspired to become a plow driver by his father, a plow driver for more than 30 years, who took him to work with him as a child.

“I was drawn to it and have been hooked ever since,” said Ream, who started driving snowplows after graduating high school. “I love doing the job. It’s a rewarding job to see that you can plow the roads and clear them off for the public to get to where they need to be safely.”

Cordova has been with the city since 1996. He began in the Sanitation Department but moved to the Public Works Department, where he has stayed for the last 21 years. 

“I wasn’t expecting to drive a plow truck … I fell in love with it. I love plowing. It is probably my favorite thing to do within the city of Longmont,” Cordova said. 

Cordova, too, had family in the business, an older brother who plowed for Boulder County. 

“I kinda followed in his footsteps,” Cordova said. 

Both Ream and Cordova said that one of the biggest storms they plowed was the one that hit on Thanksgiving 2019. 

Ream said it was a difficult day because of how fast and how heavy the snow was falling. 

“You would go down one road and make a pass with the plow truck and you would look in your mirror and it was clear. Then you would come back 20 minutes later and it looked like you never even touched the road,” he said, noting the snow piles left by the plow were as high as 3 feet. 

The long shifts are the most difficult thing for Cordova. He said shifts can last up to 12 hours and the Thanksgiving 2019 storm really made him feel each of those hours. 

For both men, there isn’t much they don’t like about their job. However, Cordova said he really doesn’t like to see accidents. 

He shared a story about a snowy night 10 to 15 years ago when he and three other trucks were plowing a loop that took them down Third Avenue toward Colorado 119. He saw tire tracks in the median. He and his coworkers stopped and found a drunk driver “down in the median, where the (train) tracks are,” Cordova said. “It was a 40- to 50-foot drop.” 

Cordova remembers that night being particularly cold and was glad to have found the man. 

“I think if we didn’t stop and pull over and call the paramedics, I think he would have ended up dying,” he said.

The story of this particular accident comes up often for Cordova. He said he is grateful he was able to spot those tracks among all the other things happening that night. 

“How I saw those tracks, I don’t know,” he said. 

Ream and Cordova have a few tips for drivers who encounter a snowplow. 

The first is be patient and don’t try to pass. 

“People are sometimes impatient and they want to try to pass us and we have snow flying off the plows. The safest place for them is to be behind the plow … Don’t try to pass us because it isn’t safe for the driver or the plow drivers. At the end of the day, everyone wants to go home,” Ream said.

They also advise motorists to allow space around the snowplow. 

“Give us space and we will get the roads clear. I know people want the snow gone as soon as it hits but that is impossible. Just bear with us and we will get our job done,” Cordova said.  

Also key, they said, is for motorists to give themselves more time on the road. 

“If you have somewhere to go and you know that the roads are going to snow-packed and icy, give yourself a little more time,” Ream said. 

One common misconception is that snowplow crews don’t know what they are doing, Cordova and Ream said. 

“Our drivers are well trained … We train every year. We all go through a training class every September,” Cordova said. The class focuses on defensive driving and teaches drivers how to maneuver the large plows through several obstacles so they can be better prepared when the snowy season hits.    

Ream said he feels people expect deicing material to be constantly laid on the road. 

“We can’t do that if it’s a heavy snowstorm because it’s going to get buried by the snow that is still falling and we are going to end up pushing it off the road and wasting that material,” he said.

Both Ream and Cordova can be seen on snowy days driving the large tandem plows around Longmont, Ream usually on Loop 1, which is along Hover Street, and Cordova on Loop 3, which is along Colo. 119 and County Line Road. Both men welcome a wave hello if you see them out clearing the roads. 

“We try to do our jobs the best that we can,” Cordova said.