Unexpected storm brings town to its knees
Published on December 31st, 1997
STONEHAM, MA - If the Department of Public Work's snowfall estimate is correct, then last week's snowstorm really gave us our money's worth.
DPW Director Robert Grover said 8 1/2 inches of wet snow fell on Stoneham all day Tuesday, putting procrastinating holiday shoppers and commuters at a standstill on Stoneham major roads.
Area weathermen had predicated 2-3 inches of snow before it was supposed to turn to rain, but it never stopped snowing, dropping upwards to 18 inches on communities to the west and north.
"We were ready, but we did not anticipate that much snow," said Grover. "We had contacted all of our people and all of the plows were hooked up. We were ready to fight it, but we thought it was just going to be with sand and salt."
Because of the heavy traffic on the roads, Grover said many of the plow operators had difficulty getting to their routes and some of the smaller plows had trouble moving the heavy snow late in the day.
Plows were also called off their routes for emergency situations. On three separate occasions, 18-wheel tractor trailers were stuck on Montvale Avenue and other vehicles had trouble navigating the hill on Maple Street. In each instance, the roads had to be temporarily closed so DPW crews could plow and sand the road surfaces.
Medical aid calls and reports of fallen wires kept emergency service personnel on their toes all day.
On one call, the Police Auxiliary's Army camouflage pick-up truck was used to get to a pregnant Newcomb Road woman who was suffering from dehydration.
"We had several medical aid calls that day, but none were for shoveling unbelievably," said Stoneham safety Officer Richard Duonolo. "It was like we were dealing with a blizzard."
The Stoneham Fire and Police blotters reported six medical aide calls, 31 reports of wires down, but just nine minor motor vehicle accidents.
Accidents were reported on Alden/William Street, Park Street, Montvale Avenue, Cedar Street, North Street, Main Street, William Street, Main/Summer St. and Hanford Road.
Wires were reported down on Franklin/Summer St., Elm Street, Isabella St., McArthur Road, Fairlane Road, Keene/Broadway, Pine St., Emerald Ct., Seward Road, Essex St., Pleasant St., Dale Ct., Forest St., Warren St., Green St., Pond St., Erickson St., Greenway, Waterhouse Road, Fuller St., William St (which was temporarily closed because of the sparking wire and transformer), Phillips Road and Hancock Street. Later in the night, wires were reported down on Keene Street, William Street and Grant/Chestnut and trees were down on Kenneth Terrace, Park Avenue and Tremont Street.
In addition to the main roads, traffic problems sprung up as each of the elementary schools were letting out. School officials all over the state decided not to let the children out early to provide more time for DPW crews to clean roads. Duonolo said every available police officer was used to assist with the bottlenecks at each of the schools. A gas break on Pomeworth Street outside Central School added to the confusion.
The day shift police officers were held over to assist during the commute and three firefighters were called back and two additional firefighters were held over from their day shift.
"What really hurt us was the traffic and time of the year which the storm hit," said Grover. "Plus we had a lot of motorists who attempted to get off Rte. 93 and Rte. 128 which added to the congestion on the Stoneham roads."
The total cost of the storm was $40,000, reducing the town's snow removal budget from $160,000 to $90,000.
Subscribe and get Home Delivery of The Independent
Save 36% off the newstand price — that's like 18 FREE issues!