Maine vs. snow, Round 2: Lewiston crews gearing up for next storm

LEWISTON — Huge snowbanks in the wake of Tuesday’s storm have created visibility problems at downtown intersections, where snow is piled as high as 10 feet on some corners.

“It’s like driving around with one eye closed. You’ve lost perception of what’s around you,” said Butch Pratt, transportation director for the Lewiston School Department.

And it’s bound to get worse. Forecasters say another 6 to 12 inches will fall Friday, on top of Tuesday’s 27 inches, with more snow possible Monday.

Motorists and pedestrians should use extra caution and patience, especially at intersections, safety experts warned Thursday.

“In the downtown area, you just don’t have any place to put the snow,” Lewiston Public Works Director David Jones said. “It’s on the sidewalks, all around the downtown. We’re trying to get these things down to reasonable heights.”

In the meantime, he said, pedestrians and drivers must be careful at intersections with high snowbanks. “You can’t see. Slow down. Be extra cautious,” Jones said.

Drivers and walkers can’t assume they’re being seen when they enter crosswalks, cross streets or walk in the road, Pratt said.

“Stop and look, and look again. It all boils down to being careful,” he said.

He said the banks creep out into roads. This morning, he had to pull over to make way for a bus. “Instead of two lanes, you have a lane and a half.”

Even though you might have the right of way, allow someone who had to creep out to go ahead, Pratt advised. “Make eye contact. Wave them through.”

The story was the same in Auburn.

“Public works are doing what they can,” police Deputy Chief Jason Moen said. “They’re working 24 hours a day to clean off snowbanks. With another storm on the way, the biggest thing people can do is entering the road, really take time to look beyond the snowbank.”

At Park Avenue Elementary School on Thursday, high snowbanks prompted custodian Tim Lander to wear fluorescent orange and act as a crossing guard.

“He’s extremely visible. He’s tall and bright,” Principal Vickie Gaylord said. “We did not have any problems.” Motorists were cautious and drove slowly, she said.

“The sidewalks were cut out and clear,” she said. “Our playground was even plowed.”

This week could be a week in which students go to school only one day, Lewiston Superintendent Bill Webster lamented. Monday was a teachers’ workshop day, Tuesday and Wednesday were snow days. Students went to school Thursday, but if Friday’s early-morning forecast calls for 12 inches, that’s enough to call off school, Webster said.

Because Friday’s storm is expected to last into the night, Lewiston Public Works is postponing snow removal until Monday night. Snow removal involves loading it into trucks and taking it to the snow dump on River Road, Jones said.

bwashuk@sunjournal.com