MINOT, ND (KXNET) — About 40 members from different departments of Minot Public Works, as well as 23 heavy equipment operators, have been working hard for the last two days. City crews were out sanding and salting the roads, as well as plowing the snow shortly after it started snowing on Tuesday. Their priority? Clearing snow from the different quadrants in the city that see the heaviest traffic. Since Wednesday, Minot has been responding to a snow removal emergency put out yesterday morning for Priority 1 and 2 snow routines. These routes are important for first responders who would be unable to do their job if they were blocked by snow. Now as of Thursday morning, Priority 1 and 2 snow routes are about 90% cleared, and city crews are shifting focus to more residential areas. There's a lot of planning that goes into an event like this, Public Works Operations Director for the City of Minot, Bryan Banfill, says he coordinated with the community about the city's efforts to tackle the snow and if any specific measures had to be taken. "There's a new a policy where we will sit down with bigger picture teams; so we have our police department, fire department, city manager, city staff, and we actually reached out to the Minot Public Schools as well to include them in these conversations. We'll have a sit-down meeting, a quick operational discussion, for what's gonna transpire for that event itself," said Banfill. What parts of your vehicles to winterize for the colder temperatures Banfill says that quickly clearing any obstructions caused by the snow is critical for Minot first responders, after that, it's on to tackling the lower-priority areas of the city. "To the Priority 3 area, which is the hill area of town, the hills are kind of represented in the northeast northwest zones of the city so again we will go and tackle those while circling back around to clear the Priority 1 and Priority 2 roadways," continued Banfill. However, Banfill says the City of Minot takes into account new structures like Minot's Trinity Health Hospital when designing routes to clear snow. "Post snow season, we will do a review of the entire city, meaning the entire city map, any new structures that are being built that could be affected by snow removal," explained Banfill. Banfill says that the many heavy equipment operators that drive the snow plows are some of the most devoted people to the City of Minot. "I've just seen a dedication to this city that is really unparalleled. Every last operator here takes pride in everything they do. They want to make sure they open up that roadway, just that extra foot even, even though it might not be passable at the time," said Banfill. Minot Public Works will be working on clearing residential roadways in Priority 4 and 5 snow routes for the remainder of the week. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Today's Top Stories SIGN UP NOW