Snow and Ice Control
The Gurnee Public Works Department is responsible for the Village’s snow and ice control operations on 243 centerline miles of public streets and 350 cul-de-sac and dead end streets within the corporate limits of the Village. The Public Works Department operates under the guidance of the 2023-2024 Snow and Ice Control Plan, which establishes control methods and procedures for winter weather events designed to reduce threats to public safety and the traveling public. The procedures established provide details pertaining to the personnel, equipment and materials to be used on the Village’s 11 designated plow routes during SIC operations. View a map of the Village's snow routes.
Salting operations typically begin as streets become slippery, while snowplowing operations commence when more than one (1) inch of snow has accumulated on Village streets. SIC operations are conducted simultaneously on all of Village’s 11 plow routes to ensure uniform coverage of critical areas such as main arterial roads, intersections, curves, hills, and school zones. During an average 4” snowfall a single pass is designed to take between 4-6 hours but the intensity and duration of a storm can drastically affect response times.
Salt use is minimized for environmental benefits and to reduce the impact on the local watershed. Public Works utilizes liquid ice melting chemicals to pre-treat granular salt before spreading it on the roadway. Pre-wetting the salt helps reduce scattering off the target roadway, increases the effectiveness of salt at lower temperatures, and provides the necessary moisture speed up the ice melting process.
When are the Streets Plowed
Plowing operations commence when the snow begins to accumulate and temperatures indicate that no melting will occur. The Village has developed a priority system for plowing the roadway system. Mainline or “collector” streets are given first priority. Examples of these streets are Almond Road, First Street, Lawson Boulevard and Dada Drive. Local streets, which are the side streets that feed into the collectors, are given second priority. Dead ends and cul-de-sacs are given third priority, and may not be salted during an initial call out. The extent of the response to a snow event will be determined by the Public Works “Snow Boss” based on existing weather conditions, pavement temperatures, time of day, and forecast.