GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — The snow may have stopped by Friday evening in Ottawa County, but temperatures remained as cold as ever.
That makes some jobs hard for road crews as they continue their clean-up, but they said they won't stop until the job is done.
"When there's a snow day for kids, there's no snow days for us public servants," said Derek Gajdos, Public Works Director for the City of Grand Haven. "We've been working 24/7 since Tuesday morning when the snow started, and will continue to work at least into tomorrow if not into Sunday."
Snow fell consistently for more than 48 hours over the last few days, putting down up to 18 inches in some areas in Ottawa County.
"Along the lakeshore when we get those snow bands, whether you're in it or out of it makes a huge difference because it fluctuates," added Gajdos.
The continuous snow puts a strain on road crews as they try to keep up, and for Grand Haven, the city is about 6.5 square miles with just shy of 60 miles of streets to plow.
"We've also got more than 100 miles of sidewalk that we also plow," Gajdos said, "and we typically can get through all of that in about a 12-hour period."
Gajdos did say though, that they're lucky to have a snowmelt system in place in Grand Haven.
"While there's a lot of snow in the city streets, there's none in our three blocks of downtown," he said.
But even those few blocks don't ease the job that these men and women do everyday to keep road conditions safe.
"When it comes to five or six days like these when you're working 12- or 24-hour days, it can start to drag down energy levels," Gajdos said.
And the Grand Haven Department of Public works isn't just in charge of snow removal. They also handle the water systems and maintenance around the city, meaning everyone continues to be all-hands-on-deck.
"Our crews are dedicated, and this is our first major snow event of the season so we're very well prepared," said Gajdos, "and it doesn't matter how long it lasts. We'll be here, we'll keep doing it."
Grand Haven and Fruitport Schools both canceled classes Friday for the third day in a row. Spring Lake students still went in, and faced a snowy commute.
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