‘Why isn’t my street cleared yet?’: Mayor Conger talks roads, snow & ice

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FROM CITY OF JACKSON MAYOR SCOTT CONGER ON 1/22/26:

When it snows or ices, we hear this a lot: “Why isn’t my street cleared yet?”

Here’s the reality:

The City of Jackson, TN – Government has 7 snow plows for 1,300 lane miles of road. Even if they ran nonstop, it would take a long time to reach everything.

A few important things to know:

• Snow plows do not remove ice. They only push snow.
• Salt does not work in extreme cold. When it’s too cold, it just sits there.
• Crews must focus on the most critical roads first: main roads, emergency routes, hospital routes, major hills, and big intersections.

These are called arterial and collector streets.

Neighborhood streets are last, and in many cases may not be plowed at all. That is not because crews don’t care. It is because ambulances, fire trucks, and police cars have to be able to move first.

Our crews will be working long hours in dangerous conditions with limited equipment. They’ll be doing the best they can with what we have.

This storm will disrupt normal life. Travel will be slower. Some roads will stay icy. That is the reality of extreme winter weather.

Please plan ahead, stay home if you can, and give our crews some grace.

We are in this together.

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