How Missoula Public Works takes on winter roads

MISSOULA — Living in Montana, we are all used to driving in the snow. But, each year, the beginning of winter can be a bit of a learning curve.

MTN caught up with the City of Missoula’s Public Works Department about how they tackle winter road conditions.

“We are out there when we get these snow events, we're committing all of our resources,” said Brian Hensel, deputy director of Public Works’ streets division. “But, we still can't get everything done in the blink of an eye.”

Missoula’s larger roads are sorted into a priority system for plowing. High-traffic roads, like Reserve, Higgins and Broadway, are priority one, meaning crews attend to them first. Less busy roads, like Front Street, are priority two.

“They will start on their priority ones. So they will do those first, and then