Snow and Ice Control
The Gurnee Public Works Department is responsible for the Village’s Snow and Ice Control (SIC) operations on 243 centerline miles of public streets and 386 cul-de-sac and dead-end streets within the corporate limits of the Village. The Public Works Department operates under the guidance of the Snow and Ice Control Plan which establishes control methods and procedures for winter weather events designed to reduce threats to public safety and the traveling public. The procedures established provide details pertaining to the personnel, equipment and materials to be used on the Village’s 11 designated plow routes during SIC operations.
Salting operations typically begin as streets become slippery, while snowplowing operations commence when more than one (1) inch of snow has accumulated on Village streets. SIC operations are conducted simultaneously on all of the Village’s 11 plow routes to ensure uniform coverage of critical areas such as main arterial roads, intersections, curves, hills and school zones. During an average 4” snowfall a single pass is designed to take between 4-6 hours but the intensity and duration of a storm can drastically affect response times.
View a map of the Village's snow routes
Salt use is minimized for environmental benefits and to reduce the impact on the local watershed. Public Works utilizes liquid ice melting chemicals to pre-treat granular salt before spreading it on the roadway. Pre-wetting the salt helps reduce scattering off the target roadway, increases the effectiveness of salt at lower temperatures and provides the necessary moisture to speed up the ice melting process.
The following tips, when followed, help ensure snow and ice control operations proceed smoothly:
When clearing sidewalks and driveways, do not shovel, blow or plow snow onto the roadway. Village ordinance prohibits placing snow onto the roadway once it has been cleared. Placing snow in the street requires additional staff time to clear the roadway system and you could be liable for damages or injuries resulting from this practice.
When it starts to snow, park your vehicle off of the street. This allows crews to clear the entire roadway and prevents the car from being plowed in, ticketed or towed.
Please try to clear the snow around fire hydrants. This simple step could save precious time during an emergency.
Please remove portable basketball hoops, benches and decor from the street right-of-way. The Village is not responsible for damage to these items resulting from our snow removal operations.
Check that your mailbox and post are in good repair and that they are behind the curb, not leaning out over the street. For specifications on mailbox placement, please reference the Mailbox Replacement Policy.
The Public Works Department clears sidewalks within the Village Center area and along routes such as Almond Road and O'Plaine Road and sections of Route 132. Sidewalk clearing is typically completed within 72 hours after a snow event.
Salting operations begin as soon as streets become slippery, while snowplowing operations commence when more than one (1) inch of snow has accumulated on Village streets and temperatures indicate that no melting will occur.
The Village of Gurnee is bisected by a number of State of Illinois and Lake County arterial highways, but the Village does not maintain any roads that fall under the jurisdiction of another agency. The roadways identified below are NOT the responsibility of the Village of Gurnee.
Route 132 (Grand Avenue), Route 41 (Skokie Highway), Route 21 (Milwaukee Avenue), Route 120 (Belvidere Road), and Route 45 (La Grange Road) are plowed and maintained by the Illinois Department of Transportation (IDOT). They can be reached at 847-244-0034.
Hunt Club Road, Washington Street, O’Plaine Road, Greenleaf Avenue (south of Washington), Dilley’s Road (north of Route 132), Gages Lake Road, Delany Road (north of Route 41), Sunset Ave and Stearns School Road are plowed and maintained by the Lake County Division of Transportation (LCDOT). They can be reached at 847-377-7400.
Salting is necessary to accelerate snow melt and prevent melted snow from turning to ice. Once ice forms and becomes bonded to the pavement, it becomes very difficult to remove. Salt use is minimized for environmental benefits and to reduce the impact on the local watershed. Public Works utilizes liquid ice melting chemicals to pre-treat granular salt before spreading it on the roadway. Pre-wetting the salt helps reduce scattering off the target roadway, increases the effectiveness of salt at lower temperatures, and provides the necessary moisture to speed up the ice melting process.
While it’s frustrating to shovel your driveway only to have the plow come by and push snow back at the base, it is not feasible to plow the street so that your driveway remains completely “snow free.” Roadway design, the type of equipment that is utilized and the severity of snow events all factor into the size of the windrow left in the plow's wake. This problem is magnified in cul-de-sacs because there is often limited parkway space for snow storage and centrifugal force causes the snow to move off of the plow toward the outside of the circle.
To minimize snow deposits at the end of your driveway, try not to create large piles of snow in the parkway on the upstream side of the driveway and never shovel or blow snow into the street.
Snow that accumulates across the side road at an intersection must be pushed back to allow visibility and to clear the entire street radius so vehicles may turn off of or onto a roadway. The snowplow operator will typically push snow onto the corner in the direction the truck is traveling. Depending on route design and the flow of traffic, some corners may get more snow than others. It is not practical to equally distribute snow on opposite corners.
If there is an accumulation of snow at a corner where there is a bus stop, children may need to move up the street in order to board the school bus. Please instruct children not to climb on the piles that have accumulated at the corners. If a snow pile on a particular corner becomes a sight clearance problem at an intersection, please call the Public Works Department and the snow will be removed as time permits.