LEWISTON — Street-sweeping season is usually over by the time school ends, according to Lewiston Public Works Director David Jones.

But, because of late snowfalls in April, the sand-clearing process in Lewiston has gone on longer than expected, Jones said.

Saturday, a Sun Journal reader asked in a letter to the editor why street-sweeping equipment has come down his street twice this year.

“That was a total waste of taxpayer dollars,” Rejane Avenue resident Bert Laplante said.

Jones explained that the sand-sweeping process now involves two pieces of equipment.

The first pass is done by a mechanical sweeper that uses a broom and conveyor belt to move material into a hopper. Next, the city uses a vacuum sweeper which picks up the fine dust which is left on the roadways.

If it’s not swept, all of this dirty material clogs storm sewers and potentially enters waterways, Jones said.