MERIDEN, Conn. — Cities and towns across the state geared up for the first snowstorm of the season.
While most people will hunker down at home, the plow drivers in Meriden got ready to saddle up and hit the roads.
"My phone’s been ringing off the hook," said Michael Girard, owner of Cross Roads Services.
Girard is the owner of Cross Roads Service, a landscaping company that provides plowing services for businesses and homes.
With requests that came in last minute, he said so far, his team of four will plow at 36 places.
"You’re going to make sure everything has gas in it. If the snow blowers need gas, you’re going to get gas for the snow blowers. It’ll start the snow blowers up. You’re going to make sure you have ice melt, you’re going to make sure you have salt for the salters," added Girard.
Potentially having to work 24 hours nonstop, it is a job Girard does not mind.
"I’m excited, excited for sure!" added Girard.
Since December did not see any snow, he had some dusting off to do.
"It’s tough because the equipment sits and then when you need it for a storm, it’s been sitting for a month with no use. Usually, you’re dealing with dead batteries or you’re dealing with low tires on some of them," added Girard.
Meanwhile, on the city level, Meriden planned to have 20 drivers out in full force and all of them were scheduled to be on 16 routes for Saturday.
Their job though started on Friday when they began to pre-treat the roads.
"This is New England but everybody needs to re-learn how to drive in the snow," said John Lawlor, director of Meriden's Department of Public Works and Engineering.
Lawlor advised residents to not shovel their driveway until municipalities finish plowing or they will have to deal with residual snow.
"You may see the driver but the driver may not see you, so do everything you can to be careful and be considerate of those large pieces of equipment that are out there trying to do the job," said Lawlor.
The challenges in Meriden include lots of narrow roads, dead ends and cul de sacs, but it is nothing city plowers cannot handle.
"This is their Superbowl, they live for the big storms," added Lawlor.
Meriden's parking ban will begin at 6 p.m. Saturday, so there should be no cars or trash cans on public roads.
The ban will be lifted as soon as the storm is over.
Carmen Chau is an anchor and reporter at FOX61 News. She can be reached at cchau@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook and X.
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