Notches plowed into snowbanks

[Adk_dib]

This has nothing to do with hiking, but I know some of the north country people will know the answer to something that has me scratching my head. Coming down from tupper lake to blue mtn lake every year, I see about every 100 yards knotches plowed into the snowbanks. I don't ever see this in central new york so I was wondering why? Is this some kind of distance marker? Doesn't seem to be any reason for this

 

[David Metsky]

Are there drains roughly every 100 yards?

 

[lx93]

Maybe for really heavy snowfalls, so that they can slough off excess amounts?

I was born a Yankee, so am I qualified to guess?

 

[--M.]

I was up at [New Hampshire's] Zealand trailhead last week, and noticed a heavy plow carefully moving along the banks, but pausing every time the plow would have hit a reflector pole. He carefully stopped at each one and restarted on its other side. Maybe that's what you're seeing.

 

[David Metsky]

I was up at [New Hampshire's] Zealand trailhead last week, and noticed a heavy plow carefully moving along the banks, but pausing every time the plow would have hit a reflector pole. He carefully stopped at each one and restarted on its other side. Maybe that's what you're seeing.

I thought that as well, but he said notches plowed into the snowbanks. Perhaps I took the description too literally.

 

[MichaelJ]

Drains or hydrants, usually.

EDIT: as Roy says in the next post, those reflectors indicate something likely buried under the snow. Drains are common, as are hydrants. Around where I work, they're also used to mark where the speed bumps are.

 

[RoySwkr]

I was up at [New Hampshire's] Zealand trailhead last week, and noticed a heavy plow carefully moving along the banks, but pausing every time the plow would have hit a reflector pole. He carefully stopped at each one and restarted on its other side. Maybe that's what you're seeing.

The color of the reflector is significant, if it is red and not in line with other ones it means some object such as drainage grates.

Plows are not supposed to hit markers, signs, mailboxes, etc. so if visibility is good they go around them, with no visibility in storms all bets are off.

On Rte. 16 by Glen Ellis Falls I once climbed up Wildcat D while listening to a small tractor with front bucket painstakingly clear all the drainage grates in the area.

 

[Breeze]

This has nothing to do with hiking, but I know some of the north country people will know the answer to something that has me scratching my head. Coming down from tupper lake to blue mtn lake every year, I see about every 100 yards knotches plowed into the snowbanks. I don't ever see this in central new york so I was wondering why? Is this some kind of distance marker? Doesn't seem to be any reason for this

Happens every year about this time. The reason is just what you might think. As the days get warmer, snow-melt occurs and these notches in the snowbanks allow water to drain OFF the roadways. Nights are still going well down into the single numbers, so the drainage OFF the road surface prevents ice on the road in the AM.

You'll see this prominently on Rt 16 thru Pinkham.

Breeze