Routes Near Tulsa Schools Have Been Cleared

Emory Bryan, News on 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- The City of Tulsa is scaling back snow plowing after claiming success on major streets and in the new effort to clear streets around schools.

The streets around Tulsa schools, both public and private, were cleared by early Friday. Private contractors were called in to remove the snow and they finished the job early Friday.

Ordinarily, a flat side street would never be plowed by the City of Tulsa, but since the federal government is paying part of the bill, Tulsa hired extra help.

A manager for Becco Contractors, one of the firms hired by Tulsa, says they'll have all of their assignments cleared no later than 6 a.m. Friday.

"We've got road graders basically getting from the center to the curb line, getting it off, then loaders and backhoes cleaning out the intersections and the driveways so there's not a windrow and they can get over it," Alvin Atkinson, Becco Contractors, said.

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Brad Crutcher, a construction manager with the City of Tulsa Public Works Department, said he expected the contractors could be done by midnight Thursday.

One of the plowed routes is right by Jason Stiles house.  He started unloading snow from his truck, now that he won't need the extra weight to get down his snowy street.

"Yeah it's nice, I wasn't looking forward to shoveling and sliding, now it will dry out quicker," he said.

Before the plows came through, Stiles had to blaze his own trail so he could get to work.

"And we just shoveled all the way down there, about 300 feet, until we could get out," he said.

The private contractors plan to work through the night to finish the job around the schools. After that, city crews will continue treating slick spots and plowing hilly streets.

The city fully expects to spend about $2 million on this cleanup and fully expects federal money to cover some of that.

See a complete list of school closings