SIOUX FALLS, SD (KELO.COM) All the streets in Sioux Falls have been cleared of snow ahead of schedule.
"We've got nearly 75 square miles of mature city and in 24 hours it's plowed curb to curb. They've' done a nice job and done it safely," Public Works Director Mark Cotter tells KELO.COM. It was expected to take 30 hours to plow after the weekend storm.
Plows entered neighborhoods at about 6 a.m. Monday, and all streets were plowed by 4:30 a.m. Tuesday. Snow gates were used citywide.
And Cotter says the city saved some taxpayer dollars by not picking up snow after it was plowed from the arterial roads, instead letting the coming warmer weather melt the snow.
"Picking up snow on those arterials can ultimately be up to 30 to 40 percent of our costs for a snow event, so doing what we did, doing it efficiently is good, but then avoiding the pick up further saves us money," explains Cotter.
He says the snow budget is in very good shape.
"We've had a nice mild 2017 so far"
And Cotter hopes - "knock on wood" - that this will be the last real snow event of the season