City Of Tulsa To Plow Secondary Streets

Many main arterial streets appear to have at least two lanes passable. As conditions improve, snow plows will move on to smaller streets, especially those around schools.

Wednesday, February 2nd 2011, 4:42 pm

By: News On 6

NewsOn6.com & Emory Bryan, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma – Tulsa Mayor Dewey Bartlett called Tuesday's snow storm an "unprecedented" event, comparing it to the ice storm in December 2007.

Bartlett said the city's arterial streets have been plowed and are passable, so crews will begin working on secondary streets starting Thursday.

Clearing those streets, which include streets surrounding schools, will take longer because the snow must be removed, not plowed. Bartlett said the city has been divided into three parts to address secondary streets.

The city is urging people to move stranded cars if they can to make room for plows. The city is trying to clear away roadblocks, like these semis blocking access from the IDL.

Many city buses remain stuck too.

The fire department is both dodging abandoned vehicles - while out driving neighborhoods to help blaze a trail through deep snow.

"They're just going out driving through, a fire truck is really heavy and they're just out driving streets where there hasn't been any traffic, just to pack the snow down," Tim Smallwood said.

Check school closings here

The city has also ordered an additional 3,000 tons of salt in case of a March snowstorm. The salt is expected to arrive in two or three weeks. The city has 7,000 tons in storage.

Crews will begin salting intersections Thursday.

Due to the storm, the Tulsa County Courthouse will remain closed on Thursday, February 3, 2011. The City of Tulsa Municipal Courts will also be closed. There will also be no trash service Thursday.