JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska -- While driving on base, clear roads and parking lots contribute to the safety of all service members and dependents on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska.
Personnel with the 773d Civil Engineer Squadron snow barn work hard to keep the airfield and streets clear of snow and ice.
Beginning in October, the heavy equipment shop transforms into the snow barn and begins their non-stop operations. Morning or night, the snow team is working to make the base as safe as possible.
“Our primary focus is snow and ice removal on the runways, taxiways, parking aprons and then all of the roads, sidewalks, parking lots, bike trails and running tracks on base,” said Gary Sliwa, 773d CES snow barn manager of snow removal operations. “The personnel are on shift 24/7 to ensure safety and situational awareness during the snow season.”
The snow team uses an array of tools to complete their job such as brooms, plows and blowers, as well as vehicles that apply chemicals to the airfield surface. On the streets they operate graders, loaders, dump trucks and sand trucks.
To prevent accidents, people should maintain a 75-foot clearance from snow-removal equipment, yield the right-of-way to snow-removal equipment and slow down and drive according to the road conditions.
“All JBER residents, soldiers and Airmen need to maintain situational awareness at all times,” said Dennis Sessler, 773d CES snow barn supervisor. “The equipment that we operate to maintain JBER is unforgiving.”
To help with snow removal operations, people should pick up or remove debris around base facilities and parking lots which could impede or damage the snow removal equipment.
Before using unit owned snow-plows, facility managers must contact the snow barn for instructions on how to plow, snow-removal methods and where to place the snow.
After requesting snow removal, facility managers need to post parking lots as closed. Parking lots with vehicles left in them may not be cleared of snow to avoid potential accidents.
Personnel going on temporary duty or leave, should park in long-term or deployment parking areas and plan accordingly to have their vehicles moved as needed throughout the winter.
“One big obstacle for our snow removal operations are vehicles left unattended in parking lots after hours,” Sliwa said. “The snow team can cover a lot of area during the off hours when people are not at work, but just a few vehicles can slow the operations down considerably.”
While ensuring vehicles are attended to, personnel should also remember to clear snow off sidewalks to prevent ice build-up.
“Without the snow team doing their job, the base would have to close down during snow or ice events and would stay closed for several days after,” Sliwa said. “The team ensures that personnel and dependents can get to work, school, appointments and other activities.”
For more information regarding snow removal on base, facilities and parking lots, call 552-3726. Or to locate long-term parking lots on the Elmendorf side, call 552-3726. For long-term parking lots on the Richardson side, call 406-564-6074.