With one of the heaviest snowfalls on record, and high winds creating big shifting drifts, treating Bristol’s roads before, during, and after Saturday’s blizzard was a really big job — but one that the Department of Public Works, led by Director Chris Parella, handled well.

With a full staff and 25 plows on standby, trucks hit the road as the first flakes flew on Friday night and continued through the day Saturday and into Sunday, clearing roads and downtown sidewalks.
“Recent equipment investments really paid off,” said Town Administrator Steven Contente.

In addition to Public Works staff, Fire, Police, and the Recreation Department were ready to spring into action, with the Quinta Gamelin Center primed to serve as a warming center in the event a power outage forced any residents from their homes — something that thankfully didn’t happen. Less than four homes lost power, and with nobody needing the warming center, staff closed it at 6 p.m. Saturday. Nobody was injured, with the only reported casualties being a handful of mailboxes around town.

The sun came up on Sunday morning and winds slowed, giving everyone the day to dig out before most residents got back to business as usual on Monday.

Cleanup is not entirely done for DPW staff, however. At press time there were still a couple of backhoes and bobcats on the road, clearing storm drains in anticipation of Friday’s predicted rain.

“The DPW kept up and worked tremendous hours, but they are still out there, clearing drains,” said Contente. “They did an excellent job; I’m really proud of the department.”