The Public Works Street Division is responsible for maintaining 355 lane miles of city streets, 97 miles of storm drain piping, 2,565 catch basins, 486 manholes, seven stormwater treatment units, 93 outfalls to the Chena River and Noyes Slough, 5,000 street and traffic signs, 2,824 street lights, and 27 miles of sidewalks. The division provides services including snow removal, street sweeping, sanding, drain pumping and thawing, and operates a sign shop to repair and replace street and traffic signs.
Street maintenance is an ongoing effort that requires careful planning and consistent execution. The City of Fairbanks Public Works Department takes pride in our ability to adapt to the changing needs of our community, whether it's laying down sand in the depths of winter or sweeping the streets clean in the warmth of summer. We are committed to providing safe, well-maintained roadways that support the daily lives of our residents and visitors.
Your cooperation is vital to our success. We encourage residents to report any issues they observe on our roads, whether it's a patch of ice that needs attention or an area that requires sweeping. Together, we can ensure that our streets are safe and accessible throughout the year.
Our mission is to ensure safe driving and walking conditions through efficient snow removal operations. Snow removal consists of two stages: immediate plowing during storms and subsequent widening of roads by removing snow berms. Factors like storm timing, temperatures, and equipment availability can affect the speed of operations.
During the winter months, the safety of our roads is a top priority. Ice and snow can create hazardous driving conditions, which is why our crews work diligently to sand the roads with fine rock chips. This sanding process provides crucial traction on icy surfaces, reducing the risk of accidents and helping vehicles maintain control in slippery conditions. We prioritize main roads, emergency routes, and key public areas, ensuring that these critical pathways remain as safe as possible. Sanding is often repeated throughout the winter, particularly after snowstorms or significant temperature fluctuations, to keep our roads in optimal condition.
When the snow and ice finally melt away, our focus shifts to cleaning up the remnants of winter. The fine rock chips used for sanding, along with other debris that accumulates over the winter, must be removed to prepare the roads for the warmer months. Our summer sweeping program is designed to clear the streets of these materials, improving road safety and aesthetics. Sweeping not only makes the streets cleaner but also helps protect the environment by preventing debris from entering storm drains and local waterways. Our crews systematically cover all areas of the city, with a focus on high-traffic roads and residential neighborhoods, ensuring that every street is thoroughly cleaned.
During the summer, crews sweep streets and clean out storm drains, gutters, and collection basins. They jet clean buried drainage pipes and remove vegetation from ditches to improve water flow during rainstorms and spring runoff. Residents are encouraged to sweep sanding chips from sidewalks to the curb for efficient collection. The department is working on acquiring additional sidewalk sweepers to improve service.
In warmer months, a pothole patching crew addresses potholes on city streets. Pothole lists guide the crews’ work, and a night patch crew operates in June to repair daytime high-traffic streets. Larger paving projects are handled by a dedicated paving crew.
The sign shop operates year-round to repair or replace damaged or missing signs.