UDOT: Don't shovel snow onto roadways

By Anne Forester | Posted - Dec. 22, 2009 at 4:19 p.m.

Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes

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SALT LAKE CITY -- Falling snow usually leads to shovel duty, but the Utah Department of Transportation is asking people to be careful of where those mounds of snow end up.

UDOT moves about 65,000,000 tons of snow off the road in a typical winter. -UDOT

Depending on where you live, you may be getting ready to head outside to shovel your walks, but UDOT is asking all property owners to not shovel, blow or push the snow onto the roads.

Most people shovel their driveways, piling the snow on the roads. You may think snow plows will come through to clear the streets, but UDOT says all that extra snow can be a safety hazard.

"When that snow is shoveled out, it gets run over by other cars, frozen, stuck to the road. Then it provides a bigger problem of ice to all the cars," says UDOT spokesman Vic Saunders.

**Rule 918-3-1. Snow removal on state roads**

D. The removal of the normal snowfall and windrows on private road approaches, both on and off the highway right-of-way, is a responsibility of the property owner. When clearing these approaches, the property owner shall not push or pile the snow onto the state right-of-way. - *[Utah Administrative Code](http://www.rules.utah.gov/publicat/code/r918/r918-003.htm)*

State law actually prohibits shoveling snow onto roads. Piles of snow also create obstacles for emergency vehicles and law enforcement officers. "We just want people to know they should try to keep the snow on their own property. We want people to be safe during the holidays. This time of year, we'd really like to see that happen," Saunders says.

UDOT says a good rule of thumb is to shovel in and not out; keep the snow on the lawns so it is out of the way.

E-mail: aforester@ksl.com