Dubuque city officials say aftermath of Tuesday winter weather was ‘best case scenario’

DUBUQUE, Iowa (KCRG) - Crews worked overnight in Dubuque to clear streets as winter weather entered the area early Tuesday morning. City officials say it has been the best-case scenario thus far.

In fact, Dubuque Police said between 3:00 a.m. and noon, they had only responded to two crashes in the area.

Arielle Swift, the city’s assistant public works director, said fifteen crews worked overnight, prioritizing areas with high traffic volume, like the Northwest Arterial and Pennsylvania Avenue.

She explained, because rain was the first thing in the forecast, they could not start salting roads until about 3:30 in the morning. According to Swift, pavement temperatures were favorable and allowed the salt to do its work.

“A lot of people do not realize it takes like five to six hours to get through a single route, so for them to get through mains and primaries by six and have everything opened up by the time people went to work it was the best-case scenario,” she added.

Swift mentioned, however, the city will have between five and ten crews out on the streets Tuesday night as there are concerns for re-freezing.

“Right now we have people spot salting, so anywhere from five to ten people depending upon citizen concerns,” she explained. “We will be monitoring the situation overnight because, as pavement temperatures and the weather cools again, we will be concerned about re-freezing.”

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