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An Update on Campus Snow and Ice Removal
It has always been our first and foremost priority to provide safe walking surfaces for the campus community. Given the extremes of conditions in a Midwestern winter, and the large number of variables in conditions and forecasts, the decision-making process can be complicated. Effective snow and ice removal is dependent on efficient and orderly utilization of a variety of personnel, equipment and materials. Since every snowfall is different, the specifics will change each time.
Clean, dry pavement is always our end goal, and over the years we have worked to be as efficient as possible in achieving that goal. Brine has been proven to be a useful tool for us in managing snow and ice. This year we will continue to use brine on our parking lots, sidewalks and steps. Prior to winter weather events, IWU Grounds and KCN Solutions crews will apply brine to parking lots, sidewalks and steps to assist with melting snow and ice. This de-icing solution is an economical and effective way to pretreat large areas of campus without harming the landscape. It speeds up the melting time and provides us a preferable option to rock salt when conditions allow. We will continue to use rock salt when weather conditions require its use. Regardless of what equipment and procedures we utilize, it still takes 6 employees several hours to cover the 16 miles of walks that connect our campus.
As we move into the winter season, we would encourage a cautious mindset and appropriate footwear. We would also recommend a heightened awareness, not only of conditions, but also of the machines that are out clearing the walks.
Snow and Ice Procedures
We will soon have our first hit of snow and ice this season. The Physical Plant would like to review the procedures for getting those work orders to us. Please do not put those requests into Asset Essentials. Please call us at the Physical Plant at 556-3066 during our regular hours: Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. After hours, please call Campus Safety at 556-1111 for an emergency and they will contact someone from Physical Plant.
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