Clearing the way: Maintaining county roads a big job
From left, Mineral County snowplow drivers Terry Erickson, Jeff Mask, Nick Ostle and Road Supervisor Jason McLees inside their shop in Superior. Missing is Luke Boyce who completes the team of drivers that plow and sand the county roads and parking lots each winter. (Monte Turner/Mineral Independent)
The elevation of Alberton is 3,055 feet. Superior is 2,720 feet and St. Regis sits at 2,635. The I-90 corridor gains altitude as a person drives west where Haugan is at 3,425 feet and the summit at Lookout Pass is 4,710 feet.
The Montana Department of Transportation maintains I-90 and Montana 135 when it comes to snow removal at just under 100 miles of combined road surfaces. And the difference in elevations varies the road conditions but the surfaces are all paved.
Jason McLees is the road supervisor for Mineral County and has five snowplow drivers, including himself, to handle about 130 miles of snow removal every day. Depending on the amount of snow, he said it is usually a full 8 or 9-hour day for everyone.
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