Williams readies new snowblower

New machine should significantly reduce snow removal time in city

WILLIAMS, Ariz. - Removing snow from Williams streets should become quicker and easier this winter with the help of a large snowblower.

The city bought the snowblower from a company in Michigan about three months ago. A new machine would cost about $100,000, but the city bought a used one for about $12,000, said City Manager Brandon Buchanan.

The city has not used the snowblower yet because is currently in the city's shop.

"We're working out a few bugs with it," Buchanan said.

He explained that city employees have tested the snowblower a few times, but they need to make some modifications before they use it on a larger scale. Since the recent snow has had so much moisture in it, parts of the machine were clogging.

City mechanics are currently working on a couple of snowplows. Buchanan said he hopes to have the snowblower up and running by the next storm.

He described the snowblower as similar to a residential snowblower.

"It's the same thing people have at their homes but it's 4 feet tall and 8 feet wide and moves a lot more snow," Buchanan said.

City crews will still use snowplows to windrow the snow. But rather than using a loader to transfer the snow to a dump truck, the snowblower, which is mounted on a tractor, will move the snow directly into the dump truck.

Buchanan said that once plows windrow the snow, he's seen snowblowers like this reduce snow removal times from two days to four hours.

Using the snowblower also has other advantages. It reduces the amount of time workers must block the streets to clear the snow. It also reduces wear and tear on equipment and roads since the snow removal requires fewer steps and chained equipment will be driving back and forth less.