Snow removal for long rural driveways in northern Macomb County

What makes rural driveways different?

The farther north you go in Macomb County, the longer the driveways get. In Armada, Bruce, Ray, Richmond and Lenox townships, a drive of several hundred feet is ordinary, often gravel or chip seal, often crossing a ditch on a culvert, and often running beside open fields with nothing to stop the wind.

Each of those details changes the job:

• Length means more time per stop and more snow to place.
• Open fields mean drifting.
• Gravel means the blade has to ride higher. See plowing a gravel driveway.
• Ditches and culverts are hazards hiding under the first snowfall.
• No turnaround can mean a truck backing a long way out.

Drifting: the storm after the storm

On open ground, the day after a snowfall can be worse than the snowfall. A steady northwest wind picks up loose snow from the fields and drops it across the driveway, often in the same few spots every time: gaps in a tree line, the low stretch near the road, the lee side of a barn.

Know where your drifts form and tell your contractor. Ask how drifting is handled: whether wind-driven snow that builds past the trigger counts as a visit, and how that is billed. A windbreak or snow fence along the worst stretch can also cut drifting on the driveway itself.

Pricing a long driveway

Driveways are priced by area, and long ones are simply larger. A drive four or five times the size of a suburban two-car driveway costs roughly four or five times as much per visit. That is why seasonal agreements are worth pricing on rural properties: a heavy winter with frequent drifting adds up quickly on per-visit billing.

Use the calculator for a starting point, or ask us to measure. For a long drive, measuring is worth it.

Route timing

Snow routes run in driving order from a company's base. Communities at the far edge of the county sit later on most routes simply because of distance. We are based in Macomb Township, and we are honest that Armada, Richmond and Memphis sit later on our route than Macomb Township does. Ask any contractor the same question, and get the answer before you sign rather than in January.

Turnarounds, culverts and ditches

• Turnaround: tell the contractor where a truck can turn, or whether it needs to back out. Keep that spot free of parked equipment.
• Culverts: mark both ends with tall stakes. A plow wheel off the edge of a culvert is a stuck truck and a damaged culvert.
• Ditches: mark the edge of the drive along any ditch. The snow makes the drive look wider than it is.
• Gates: leave them open or share the code before the storm.

Seasonal or per visit on a long drive?

On a short suburban driveway, per-visit often wins. On a long rural one, a seasonal agreement often makes more sense, because the per-visit cost is higher and drifting adds visits. Our seasonal vs per-push guide shows how to compare them.

What to tell your contractor

1. The length and surface of the drive.
2. Where drifts form.
3. Where the culverts, ditches and turnaround are.
4. Any gate codes and where to pile snow.
5. The time you need to be out, if any.

It all goes on your stop notes, so the crew knows the property before the first storm.