BANGOR, Maine — It was a long night for Bangor Public Works employee Bud Greene.
Greene started work at 6:30 a.m. Tuesday clearing sidewalks of snow. He was still going at 11 a.m. Wednesday, having taken a few breaks for coffee, fuel and to stretch his legs. He didn’t anticipate going home until 3 p.m.
“Pedestrians are on the road right now, because they can’t get on the sidewalks,” he said, noting that sidewalk clearing is essential to keeping Bangor safe.
Greene will begin clearing the same 24 miles of sidewalks again Thursday. He said they become clogged when residents plow their driveways, and often snowplows clearing streets bury the walkways again.
“I’ll be all week trying to clear the sidewalks,” he said. “It’s kind of a never-ending job once it starts snowing.”
The National Weather Service predicts more snow Thursday night and Friday.
Greene said residents can help him in his work by taking care not to block sidewalks when they plow their driveways. In some areas he plowed Wednesday, he said snow was significantly deeper than he anticipated.
“I really surprised myself today because I had snow right up to the top of my cab,” he said, gesturing to the roof of his roughly 6-foot-tall snow-clearing machine.
The winter work for Greene won’t end with his shift.
“When I get done, I’ve still got to go home and plow my own driveway,” he said.
A total of 42 pieces of equipment worked Tuesday and Wednesday in Bangor to clear, salt and sand 193 miles of streets, 83 miles of sidewalks, 10 schools and 27 parking lots.
Twenty-two public works employees worked 25-hour shifts during the storm and 20 worked 32-hour shifts, according to Public Works Director Dana Wardwell.
“On behalf of the crew, I would like to thank motorists and residents for heeding warnings and staying off the streets yesterday,” he said. “It was very noticeable and made a big difference for the crew and is a major reason we had no accidents under very difficult conditions.”
Wardwell instituted a downtown parking ban to allow for plowing beginning at 11 p.m. Wednesday and running through Thursday morning.
Vehicles left on downtown city streets or in city parking lots may be towed at the owner’s expense, Wardwell said.
Follow Evan Belanger on Twitter at @evanbelanger.