ST. LOUIS — City residents could be waiting several days or more before their street is cleared of snow – and it’s not because snowplows are busy taking care of other roads.
The winter weather system brought sleet, freezing rain and snow to the St. Louis area Wednesday and Thursday, leaving behind 6 inches or more of snowfall across most of the area.
All that snow has created a slippery situation for residents, with transportation departments asking people to stay home if they can so road crews can safely work to plow streets and highways.
But in the city, residential streets that are blanketed with snow are typically only “plowed” by drivers who make their way around the neighborhood. 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 or greater) also get preferential treatment.
Residential streets typically won’t get plowed because they’re narrower and don’t have as much traffic, the city explained. 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.
Road crews in Missouri and Illinois are asking for patience as they continue to clear the snow.
The Missouri Department of Transportation and the Illinois Department of Transportation said don't expect to see clear roadways Friday. Although crews worked through the night into Friday morning, the weather hasn't been cooperating enough to have that quick of a turnaround.
The sun returns Friday but temperatures will still be below average with highs in the upper 20s. Temperatures start to warm up this weekend with highs in the mid-30s Saturday to near 40 Sunday.