Snow & Ice Control

Services

The road length Elgin’s Public Works Department must service is the equivalent of traveling to Peoria, Illinois and back and entails more than 325 center lane miles. In a typical snow season, over 20,000 miles are traveled.

Winter Services 

When wintery conditions first begin to blanket the area, Elgin’s Public Works Department responds by deploying drivers on 25 routes throughout the neighborhoods and city’s main streets. The department receives road weather data from a variety of sources, from official weather reports to online and satellite information and evaluates all data received before launching a response.

There are over 320 cul-de-sacs within the city which are cleared by a contractor working for the city beginning after 2 inches of snow. The Public Works Department generally provides snow and ice control for city owned roads. In addition, the city provides those same services for several IDOT jurisdictions including IL Rte 58, from Hiawatha to Liberty Street, IL Route 25, within the city limits, IL Route 31, within the city limits and IL Route 19 from Liberty Street to Rohrssen Road. It is the Public Works Department’s goal to plow all streets the department is responsible for within 24 hours after a storm of eight inches or more, within 12 hours after a storm of four to eight inches and within six hours after a storm of four inches or less.

Equipment

Depending upon road conditions during the storm, the department uses an arsenal of tools to ensure road safety including Supermix, a liquid mixture of beet juice bi-product, calcium chloride and salt brine, to help break the pavement bond between the snow and ice, road salt, and a fleet of fifty six 17-ton trucks to help clear the snow. 

Please be advised: When clearing snow from your driveway City Ordinance prohibits residents from depositing snow into city streets.