True Grit: Gravel pickup has begun
By Terry Murry on Friday, March 12th, 2021 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
PENDLETON – The February snow storm saw the city of Pendleton spread more than 1,200 tons of gravel on its streets. Now the time has come to pick it up, and that’s complicated.
Public Works Director Bob Patterson said the city was late in line to rent a mechanical sweeper, so it could only get one for four weeks. It is finishing up the streets south of Interstate 84 now and will soon be moving to the north side. Crews are working 12-hour shifts in an attempt to sweep up as much as possible before the sweeper has to be returned. Patterson says citizens can help.
“Park off the street,” he said. “Don’t take a neighbor’s spot, but park off the street if you can,” he said.
The sidewalks are also full of gravel.
“Normally, the corrections crews would get out there and sweep, but with COVID and this pandemic situation, we don’t have those resources this year,” he said.
He asked any able residents to sweep gravel off the sidewalks and into the gutters. There was so much gravel on the roads that the first sweeping effort had to be by the rented mechanical sweeper, which puts material into a hopper. The city owns a vacuum sweeper which will be used to make a second pass once the bulk of the winter debris is captured.
