DENVER — Roads across the Mile High City remain in tough shape Friday night, much to the dismay of drivers.
“They’re just slippery and kind of dangerous,” said Alexis Ivans. “They still need to be plowed.”
Three full days after it stopped snowing, the majority of Denver side streets still have portions covered in ice.
“It’s going to take us a while to bounce back from this storm. We saw a lot of snow followed by cold temperatures,” said Heather Burke, a spokesperson for Denver Public Works.
Burke says below-freezing temperatures since Tuesday morning have made it difficult to clear ice.
“When the conditions are like that, the de-icer is really not effective,” she said. “We understand it can be frustrating for people. Our crews have been working since Monday when it started sticking to the streets.”
Burke says the city will not be making additional passes down residential streets.
“The thing to understand about those residential plows is that they take a single pass down every side street. They don’t drop de-icing material, they don’t go to bare pavement, basically they just try to make those side streets passable,” she said.
Burke says the department’s focus is on clearing packed ice from major thoroughfares.
“As temperatures warm up and we see more traffic on the streets, it will really help break up that snow that’s on the streets,” she said.
Temperatures are expected to climb into the upper 30s over the weekend, so Burke expects roads to be in much better shape by the Monday commute.
Highs in the 50s return starting Monday.