City of Cape Girardeau prepares for first snow of season

CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. (KFVS) - As the Heartland prepares for incoming winter weather, the city of Cape Girardeau is firing up their equipment to clear off the roads.

With the first snow of the season coming on a holiday weekend, more travelers are expected to be on the road.

“It’s just a real touchy thing to not know what the road is like from here and another mile down,” Gene Wilfong said.

He and his wife Barbara are hosting Christmas, so they do not have to travel, but they worry about their granddaughter who will be driving in from Iowa.

Wilfong said that especially during the holiday season, people have more on their mind than just driving.

“Where they’re going and the people they’ll be seeing and family, so sometimes you get distracted pretty easily,” he said.

Stan Polivick is the public works director for the city of Cape Girardeau.

He and the plow drivers have been preparing their equipment for the snow since October.

“Making sure the spreaders work, the plows are all greased and working properly, the control systems work, so that’s already been done,” Polivick said.

They have mounds of salt ready to coat the roads, and the plows are ready to be hitched to their trucks.

“We’ll be ready to respond on Thursday afternoon or evening, whenever the precipitation starts freezing,” Polivick said.

With the first snow coming on a holiday weekend, Polivick wants to ensure everyone can make it home to their family.

“Our first responsibility is to get the streets clear,” Polivick said. “If this happens to change and it turns into a six-inch snow instead of a one-inch snow, we hope that doesn’t happen, but if it does, we’ll keep working through Friday and just keep going until we get the roads set up.”

Polivick also said exercising caution when you are driving one the road with plows helps to keep everyone safe.

“Be safe around the equipment,” he said. “Those drivers are focusing on the road and people zig-zagging and jumping in around them doesn’t help.”

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