Naperville snow 'load-out' clears downtown, train stations

Snow that fell on the sidewalks and parking lots of Naperville's downtown and two Metra stations has found a new home.

City public works crews and contractors started carting it Monday night to an open area just west of the Naperville Test Track on the south side of Jefferson Avenue at Fort Hill Drive.

The "load-out" phase of snow removal started Monday night after the city had cleared major arteries, collector streets, residential streets and cul-de-sacs, said Erik Hallgren, assistant to the public works director. It includes loading snow from downtown sidewalks and parking lots - including the top stories of the Chicago Avenue and Van Buren Avenue parking decks - into trucks, then dumping it in large piles near the test track and the city's public works facility.

About 10 public works employees worked through the night to clear the snow, while more than 15 employees of a contractor the city hired used plowing equipment and shoveled and salted paths by hand.

"Between the train stations and downtown, it's 1 million square feet of area to cover," Hallgren said.

The process continued into Tuesday afternoon. As crews were wrapping up removal of snow that fell during Sunday's blizzard, Hallgren said they were preparing to start over if more snow comes Tuesday or Wednesday night.