Madera County
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Currently, the Madera County Public Works Department is responsible for 1,900+ miles of county roadways. The County’s land area has been geographically divided into five “road areas” which employ 5 or more employees each. These employees maintain County roads by doing minor repairs throughout the year, and snow removal during the winter months. When a county road needs extensive repairs or when Priority 3 roads receive enough snow accumulation, those roads will be listed on the County’s Road Closure web page found at: Commuter Alerts/Road Closures | Madera County.
Plowing begins when it appears that snowfall amounts are accumulating enough to create dangerous conditions, with three inches or more of accumulation usually triggering snow removal. Each maintained road has been assigned a snow removal priority from “Priority 1” to “Priority 3” roads. Priority 1 roads being the highest priority. The current classification system was established by the Madera County General Plan Policy.
Priority 1 Roads – Paved roads that are school bus routes and major arterials, which provide the main access for communities to the State Highway System, and County roads that access fire stations, paramedics, and Madera County Sheriff offices. These roads will generally receive snow removal resources first and more frequently than subordinate road classifications, and it is Public Works’ goal to keep them open continuously. While roads in this classification may close temporarily for public safety reasons, they will typically be the first to be re-opened.
Priority 2 Roads – Paved roads that are minor collector roads, which serve communities and government offices but carry less traffic than Class 1 roads and are not part of school bus routes. These are the second priority to receive snow removal resources.
Priority 3 Roads – Residential streets, subdivisions, cul-de-sacs and other paved roads within communities. As the third priority designation, these roads generally receive snow removal as soon as all of the Class 1 and Class 2 roads have been opened and cleared. Snow accumulations of less than three inches may not be plowed except during normal working hours.
Link to Snow Plow Priorities Map