Why the city plow blocks your driveway, and how to beat the windrow

Why does the plow leave snow across my driveway?

A road plow's blade is angled to roll snow off to the right side of the road, toward the curb. As the truck moves, snow builds up along the blade and spills off the end in a continuous ridge. When the truck passes your driveway opening, that ridge lands across it. Plow crews call it a windrow.

Drivers cannot lift the blade at every driveway, because the snow they are carrying would be dumped in the traffic lane instead. On a street with dozens of driveways, the windrow is simply where the road's snow goes.

Who is responsible for the windrow in Michigan?

The property owner. Road agencies clear the roadway; the snow that lands at the end of a private driveway is yours to clear, just like the driveway itself.

What you cannot do is put it back. Michigan law, MCL 257.677a, says a person shall not deposit snow, ice or slush on any roadway, and a violation is a civil infraction with a fine of up to $100. That applies to homeowners and to private plow contractors. The law exempts government road crews working within their duties, which is why the road plow can put snow at your driveway and you cannot put it back.

The shovel-to-the-right trick

Michigan road agencies, including the Livingston County Road Commission, give the same two-part advice:

1. Pile your snow to the right side of the driveway as you face the road. The plow in the nearest lane travels from your left to your right. Snow you pile on the right side is behind the plow's path at your driveway, so it is not picked up and pushed back into your opening.
2. Clear a pocket on the left side of the driveway, the side the plow comes from, about the length of a car along the curb. The plow's load spills into that empty pocket before it reaches your driveway, so less snow lands across the opening.

On a one-way street or a cul-de-sac, watch which way the plow actually travels on your side, and apply the same logic: pile downstream, clear upstream.

Timing: wait for the final pass

Road agencies plow in priority order. The Macomb County Department of Roads, which maintains more than 1,700 miles of the county's roads, clears state and primary roads before it starts on local and subdivision streets. Cities run their own streets on similar priorities; Sterling Heights, for example, aims to finish all city streets, courts and cul-de-sacs within 30 to 36 hours after snowfall ends during a declared snow emergency.

That means the subdivision plow may come hours after the snow stops, and possibly after you or your contractor have cleared the driveway. When you have the choice, save the final apron clean-up until the road has been plowed. See who plows which roads in Macomb County.

Tips for the windrow itself

• It is the heaviest snow on your property: compacted, often wet, sometimes mixed with road slush that refreezes. Break it into small pieces instead of lifting big blocks.
• Clear it before it freezes solid. A windrow left overnight in single-digit cold can take three times the effort in the morning.
• If you have heart disease or its risk factors, do not do this part yourself. See shoveling and your heart.

What your snow company should do

A proper residential visit clears the apron, including the windrow the road plow left, so you can actually get out. If the road plow comes through after the visit, the ridge comes back, and nobody controls that timing. On long storms, a company that runs its route more than once catches the second ridge.

We clear the apron on every residential visit, pile snow on your property rather than in the road, and run the route again during extended storms.