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Left in the cold | Why your St. Louis street is not getting plowed

If you've been wondering whether your street will see some snowplow action, the answer is likely “no”

ST. LOUIS — If you’re like most city residents, you haven’t seen the pavement of your street for the better part of two weeks. A round of snow this week dumped upwards of about 6 inches of fresh powder on top of an inch or two measured in the area last week.

All that snow has created a slippery situation for residents. Streets that are blanketed with snow are typically only “plowed” by drivers who make their way around the neighborhood.

If you’ve been wondering where the snowplows are and whether your street will see some action, the answer is likely “no”.

That’s because city plows mostly stick to the main streets. The City of St. Louis has established snow routes that are plowed by the City Street Division during and after snowstorms. Snow routes include “arterial, secondary and hill routes,” according to the city’s website.

Arterial routes include major streets like the following:

  • Broadway
  • Morganford Road
  • Chippewa Street
  • Vandeventer Avenue
  • Gravois Avenue
  • Grand Boulevard
  • West Florissant Avenue
  • Kingshighway Boulevard,
  • Natural Bridge Avenue
  • Goodfellow Boulevard

Secondary streets tend to include the heavily trafficked stretches near those main routes. Any streets with steep hills (14% slope) also get preferential treatment from snowplows.

Residential streets typically won’t get plowed because they’re narrower and don’t have as much traffic, the city’s website explains. You can read more about how the city handles winter storms here.

The City of St. Louis’ website has an interactive map showing what category each stretch of road falls under. You can see the map and what your street is considered by checking out the map here or by clicking around in the interactive map below.

The city’s website states there are 4,230 lane miles of streets and 1,920 of those are on a snow route. St. Louis has a fleet of 60 plows and three brine trucks that work to clear the main thoroughfares.

Helpful weather links:

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