Snow & ice removal in Juneau

January 2, 2018 – Current Issues

The City and Borough of Juneau Public Works/Engineering Department and the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOTPF) both provide snow removal services on streets within the borough:

  • DOTPF plows all the state roads, including Egan Drive (from Thane Road to the end of the road), Douglas and North Douglas Highways, Mendenhall Loop, Lena Loop, Fritz Cove, Mendenhall Peninsula, Tee and Amalga Harbors, Nine Mile and the road to Eaglecrest.
  • CBJ covers over 250 miles of streets and roads, including Riverside Drive, Tongass Avenue, Montana Creek Road and Main Street.

CBJ’s priorities for snow and ice control are set according to public safety needs (like access for emergency vehicles) and traffic volumes, with major arteries and school routes receiving attention first. CBJ performs snow removal, sanding and deicing around the clock and in the following prioritized order: 1) Main arteries and business district streets; 2) Main feeder/collector streets that lead to arterial streets and highways; and 3) Neighborhood residential streets and rural subdivisions.

Get more detail on how CBJ prioritizes snow/ice removal street by street with the CBJ Winter Road Maintenance Priority Map. The State of Alaska Department of Transportation & Public Facilities has a similar map for state-maintained roads in Juneau.

Snow berms & sidewalks

With snow removal, CBJ’s main objective is to keep our roadways open for the safe passage of traffic. CBJ can’t eliminate berms across driveways, but operators do try to minimize the size of those berms when possible. Removal of driveway berms is the responsibility of the property owner.

CBJ maintains sidewalks in the Downtown, Lemon Creek and Mendenhall Valley business districts; on arterial roads such as Riverside Drive; on routes leading directly to schools; as well as others. Property owners are responsible for removing snow and ice on sidewalks adjacent to their properties.

How you can help

  • Please obey the posted “no parking for snow removal” signs. Park your car off-street whenever you can. During snowfall or when snow is predicted, it’s especially important to remove vehicles from the street so snow plows can maneuver.
  • Please do not push snow into the street or leave snow on sidewalks. Also, do not push snow into open ditches, as this blocks drainage and causes flooding when snow melts.
  • Make sure that garbage cans are placed at least 5 feet behind the street curb; and fences, planters and other obstructions are not placed in the CBJ street right-of-way. They pose a hazard to snow plowing crews and to the traveling public.
  • Construct mailboxes to meet standards and keep them in good repair. Report any damages caused by CBJ snow removal equipment to CBJ Streets and Fleet Maintenance by May 1 for any repairs to be performed. If a snow plow damages a mailbox that wasn’t constructed or maintained to current standards, the repair is the owner’s responsibility.

For more information, contact Streets and Fleet Maintenance at 586-5256.