City of Boston snow plow driver Erik McCormick was halfway through his 16-hour workday Tuesday when he picked up some WBUR tag-alongs. The days are long, he says, but "we look forward to the snow. We call it white gold. We get a lot overtime during this time." (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
When snowstorm after snowstorm pounds Boston, many of us get snow days. But not snow plow drivers. They're working overtime.
On Tuesday, 450 pieces of city equipment were on Boston streets, many of them treating the roads with salt. So far this winter, the city has used about 67,000 tons of salt (with 13,000 tons of salt on hand).
We tagged along with Erik McCormick, a city plow driver, Tuesday.
This is McCormick's fourth winter on the job. “I like plowing the snow,” he says. “It’s just you, your truck and the elements, it’s pretty cool.” (Jesse Costa/WBUR)McCormick speaks with a police officer about clearing a portion of Green Street for emergency vehicles to park. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)"I put the salt lever down, and whoa," he says. "See this is the scary part when you can't see." (Jesse Costa/WBUR)"People have to understand the snow keeps coming," he says, "and it takes time to get this stuff up." Here he levels a snow bank on Green Street. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)Winter's not the end of it for McCormick. He works construction for Boston Public Works, so all this salt he's putting down, eating at the streets, means he'll have more road repairs in the spring. (Jesse Costa/WBUR)
