Amid record-breaking snowfall, University of Maine Facilities Management continues to work diligently to keep up with campus snow removal.

Using a complex removal plan, snow personal work around the clock to maintain roads, keep sidewalks clear and shovel entrances across UMaine’s 4.3 million square feet of paved surfaces and 355 buildings.

“In preparing for a snowstorm, our course of action depends on a lot of things: timing, day of the week, whether or not classes are in session and the number of students on campus,” Associate Director of Facilities Management Geremy Chubbuck said. “Every snow event is unique. Our removal plan really is a team effort.”

Maine, and most of New England, has experienced heavy snowfall since winter began.  Bangor has received 68.6 inches of snow since Dec.1, 34 inches more than normal.  Boston has received six feet of snow in the last month, and Worcester, Mass. has received 92.1 inches.

Chubbuck prepares for a snowstorm first by checking the National Weather Service forecast for detailed temperature, snowfall and wind predictions. From there, Chubbuck refers to a spreadsheet with various worker assignments across campus. Most routes are designed to be completed in six hours for the average snowfall. During blizzard conditions, however, snow removal personal focus solely on keeping the roads open.

Chubbuck’s office contains sprawling maps of campus, with different sections color-coded according to who plows that area and which machine is used. A small tractor is used on the Mall, for example, while regular pickup trucks are used for campus roads.

Facilities Management utilizes utility tractors, snow blowers and dump trucks to clear every road, sidewalk and entrance on campus. Dump trucks are partly computerized, so that salt and sand is distributed more efficiently. When the trucks speeds up, for example, salt or sand from the back is distributed more quickly than if the truck was slowing down.

Facilities Management sets aside $550,000 for snow removal; this includes everything from employee costs, equipment maintenance and salt and sand costs. The cost to clear the average inch of snow is $52,000, and since November, UMaine has received more than 100 inches of snow. If Facilities Management exceeds their budget, Chubbuck notes they would take money from non-safety items, like painting or roof maintenance.

When deciding whether to cancel school or not, Chubbuck meets with a committee comprising members of Facilities Management, the library, the recreation center, human resources and many others. The members consider how many students are on campus that day, which events are scheduled, road conditions and snowfall throughout the day. When school does open, Chubbuck and his team work through the night to prepare for a 7 a.m.  “We’ve had to amend our plan a little to include the 16 new major area changes from last year,” Chubbuck said, an example of which is the new Emera Astronomy Center. “We work literally around the clock for weeks just clearing snow. Some of our workers spend 20 hours a day just clearing snow.”

For example, the Collins Center for the Arts parking lot takes about 24 hours to clear. Dump trucks store the piled snow at the nearby Whitter Farm. To complicate the issue, plow drivers are forbidden to move snow into the various wetland areas scattered throughout UMaine.

Besides snow removal, Facilities Management must continue their normal operations, such as moving indoor equipment around campus, maintain campus infrastructure and event requests

“It is really like we take care of a small city,” Facilities Maintenance Manager Harold Dall said. “It is very helpful if students do three things for us: one, stay off campus if school is canceled. Two, park in rows so that we can clear the parking lots more easily. Three, be respectful of the plow trucks; we can’t stop on a dime, so give us plenty of leeway.”