road clearing

MAX-KY · Feb 3, 2014

Do any of the northern states still hire local farmers to help clear snow from county or state roads? If they do, what do they pay per mile or per hour?

David G · Feb 3, 2014

Not Iowa

1970-1655 · Feb 3, 2014

Around here (south central Indiana) the county usually waits for the farmer to clear the roads. Then they run a small dump truck with a blade around and take credit for the clearing. Been that way all my life.

M Nut · Feb 3, 2014

Not in MN. I'm pretty sure it is even illegal to move or remove snow on a public road. I know you can not plow your private driveway across a public road.

Hal/ Eastern WA · Feb 3, 2014

They don"t hire me or pay me, but I plow out the gravel road from the end of my driveway to the paved road, or my Wife would not be able to get out sometimes. The County eventually will plow the road, but it might take a couple of days. And then I get a large berm in the end of the driveway. Not so much if I have already plowed the road.

So far no one has complained. Others on the road also help plow their sections sometimes.

Jack in Colo · Feb 3, 2014

around here if you wait on the county to clear the roads you're gonna be a few days waiting. We are kind of tucked away out in the part of the county where there's not too many people so the county doesn't really consider us as a priorty when it comes to clearing snow. If you need to get to town real soon better figure on firing up the tractor and start plowing.

Never heard if it is illegal to plow snow off a county road here but I really think they don't care if you do it or not.

onefarmer · Feb 3, 2014

It's technically illegal to plow the road or even push snow across the road whether left in the right of way or not. BUUUUUTTT I have never heard of anyone getting in trouble over it. Everyone pushes snow across the road and some do plow the road just to be able to get out. This year the local BTO was plowing the roads with his big JD four wheeler so he can get to his various farms. Clinton County Mi

barnE · Feb 3, 2014

Detroit, few years back, they hired anybody they could get to plow snow. After plowing, they ticketed them for no plow license. Gratitude, huh??? Dave

8v92guy · Feb 3, 2014

In mass. state hires a lot of private contractors to plow state roads. We have 3 trucks working for the state $200.00+ an hour per truck. But sometimes it takes til august to get paid .

Whichester1 · Feb 3, 2014

You get to clear county roads all you want where I'm from, forget about getting paid. The county is about like the city of Atlanta, not enough equipment or money.

Ted in NE-OH · Feb 3, 2014

Only problem with plowing the roads it the possibility of a liability issue.

Ken Macfarlane · Feb 3, 2014

Long time ago here you had to clean the road in front of your farm like city folks have to shovel the sidewalk in front of their place.

Not like that now but I do drop my blade once in a while if its very deep.

rockyridgefarm · Feb 3, 2014

For now, the Township, county, state do pretty well at keeping up the roads. About all the roads in my township are cleared within hours of a snow event ending. Give Walker 4 more years of running this place and he'll screw that up, too.

Chris Jones · Feb 3, 2014

A local trucking company plows a mile or two from their terminal lot out to the interstate. They do a good job, plowing, salting and sanding when the county hadn't done anything--but they only do what their trucks will be using and no more--can't blame them.

oldtanker · Feb 3, 2014

(quoted from post at 18:39:56 02/03/14) Not in MN. I'm pretty sure it is even illegal to move or remove snow on a public road. I know you can not plow your private driveway across a public road.

Yea they made it illegal in MN after the blizzard in 97. Too many dummies left ridges in the traffic lanes. When they did get out to plow it tore up equipment and caused a few wrecks. Pass about the same time the stupid laws did (no driving if they say no travel).

Rick

howdy1960 · Feb 3, 2014

I live on a corner so when local town plows side road, come around corner and little past house leaving much in end of driveway. 1st year here the banks on corner were high enough cars couldnt see what coming up county road so town was cleaning up corner with payloader. They were carrying it across county road to dump. I told them just push into yard. They were so happy I wasnt worried about lawn they pushed it 150 ft across yard including the 6' bank I had on side of driveway. After that when town P/U did cleanup plowing of corner they even took a bunch from end of driveway. The pile they made that day took till almost middle of June to melt do to tree shading LOL
This year Sadie and I been keeping corner knocked down. They still take a bunch from driveway if I haven't gotten to it.

willie in mn · Feb 3, 2014

Here in Mn the state & counties handle theirs. Some townships have their own equipment, others hire contractors for the season to work as needed. Local policy is to plow after 3 in of snowfall or severe drifting, whichever is first. It is illegal statewide to push snow across the road, too many people left big ridges for traffic to hit, or piles at the edge for plows to hit.
WJ

Wile E · Feb 4, 2014

I will take my chances when it comes to getting stuck in the road and plowing the snow to the side. In some places you almost cannot drive through it unless the road is plowed. My township needs to buy a large 3 pt snowthrower mounted on a 50hp tractor cause the snow is sooooo fricken deep on the sides of the road.

chevytaHOE5674 · Feb 4, 2014

Not UP here, the county and state stay on top of all the snow we get. So far this season we have had 230 inches of snowfall and its rare for there to be more than 2-3 inches on the roads surface for more than a few hours. The county trucks run day and night when needed to keep up with the snow. They just came by yesterday with the grader and wing plow and shelfed all the snowbanks so there is room for more. They have a large blower on the front of an end loader that they use to keep the snowbanks clear at the corners so traffic can see to turn. Heck if you want our county will come and plow your private driveway for you.

They really do a great job with the huge amounts of snow we get. I've never been stranded anyplace or been unable to get to town, nobody ever has to abandon their car on the road.

Received about 1-2" of snow overnight and at 6:45am the county truck went through and cleaned the road off.

showcrop · Feb 4, 2014

Here in NH the counties don't plow anything more than the driveways to the jails and county homes. The state, with hired plows, plows the main roads and the towns plow their own roads. In my town the current elected road agent, who is on his third two year term, allows no flake of snow to stay on the road for more than fifteen minutes. He has 16 plows for 64 miles of road. yes, that is right, each plow has four miles to plow. Most of their time is spent sitting at the shed BSing or sleeping. Townspeople are able to drive during and after any storm without slowing or risk of any inconvenience.

John Fulton · Feb 4, 2014

VDOT contracts local farmers and truckers to plow here in Virginia, often with VDOT supplying the plow to attach to their truck. Don't know what the rates are, but I think it is a pretty lucrative contract. We don't often get a lot of snow, but with VDOT having substantial numbers of plows plus contracts, snow removal is very good, at least in my county.

Jim in Ma. · Feb 4, 2014

My neighbor has a good sized 4x4 Deere with a 12' highway plow on it. He plows several roads with steep hills that a regular truck would have a hard tine getting up. Last I heard he was getting $ 85. per hour. That seems cheap. Trucks with that size plow get a little more. A 4x4 pickup is getting $ 75. an hour.

Hayrack · Feb 4, 2014

My brother owns a 7000 head hog confinement in SCMN that is about 3/4 of a mile off the highway. We had trouble for years having to move snow on that township road to get feed trucks in and out every day. Finally, one spring, we got a bill from the township for road damage done by snow removal.... after not having seen the snow plow all winter!!! Well, turned around and billed them for snow removal...Went to the next board meeting with my brother, and our attorney. Basically the attorney told them to go ahead and take us to court. There was no way they could prove any road damage was from our snow removal and we wouldn't have been there if they had done their job... but we could prove our snow removal.. and did! In the end, they did fine us, but it was a ton less than the snow removal bill they had to pay!!! After that, we became one of the first roads plowed after every blow!

ericlb · Feb 4, 2014

not around here, the state does pretty good on the hiways ,the county might do a few roads, unless its the weekend or hollidays then its hard to find anybodty to drive the plow, summers they may do your gravel road maybe once, but you go to jail if you so much as tie a old grader tire behind your pickup to smooth some of the washboarding out

Pops1532 · Feb 4, 2014

(quoted from post at 01:11:06 02/04/14) Do any of the northern states still hire local farmers to help clear snow from county or state roads? If they do, what do they pay per mile or per hour?

IL used to hire excavating contractors. They'd use dump trucks with plows, end loaders and road graders. I haven't seen any of that at the state level for a very long time.
Some small towns still hire contractors to do some of their snow removal.
Some townships contract some of their snow removal.
Farmers generally don't have the necessary liability insurance, or business license to do snow removal so those contracts usually go to excavating contractors.

johnlobb · Feb 4, 2014

Wonderful Detroit, burning bridges 24-7! You try to do anything there, the bureaucracy just buries you..

Pitch · Feb 4, 2014

NY is either the state the county or the town or village, depending on who owns the road.
I can"t really complain about the job they do. State and county does real well, the town pretty much follows the school schedule. An early morning run through.and if necessary about 1:00 pm.
Weekends you may not see a town plow,unless somebody needs overtime.

Small town I live in recently put a diversity program in place at the town highway department. They hired an in-law!

nybadlybent · Feb 4, 2014

The road in front of my house is a state highway and it is usually very well maintained. In fact the big question I have is often, [why is the snow plow going up and down the road when there is little or no snow?] but then I think how lucky I am because my road is clear so I can almost always go for a drive.

Hay hay hay · Feb 4, 2014

Max, lots of the snow removal around here is contracted out to ....... Mr. March.

Bill in IL · Feb 4, 2014

Don't know what they pay but every couple of years when we get a big one the township will hire a local with a blower to open sections of road they can't get with the V plow.

thebigyellowtruck · Feb 5, 2014

Monroe county is southeast MI put a lot of their snow clearing up for bid this past year. With only about 10 trucks and 2 road graders they can't keep up. Unfortunately only 2 pickup truck contractors bid on it and won. The small trucks can only do town roads otherwise the drifts are too deep. The county wanted farmers and excavating companies to bid, but no one seen the classified ad they put in our local paper.

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