Glistening snow, nearly a foot deep and glazed by some weekend freezing rain, paralyzed Edmonds and much of the Puget Sound this week.
Many roads were impassable, bus routes were suspended, and life seemed to slow to a crawl.
Closures darkened school buildings, City Hall, and many local businesses.
“We seem to be past the worst of it,” said Mayor Gary Haakenson on Monday morning after roughly ten inches fell on the city between Dec. 18-21. “but what’s left in the wake is a mess.”
Compact snow and ice rendered even streets that have been sanded and scrapped difficult to drive on, and so work crews spent most of the last week responding to calls and wrecks.
The city has three trucks equipped to scrape and sand, said public works director Noel Miller.
“They are doing a great job, but they cannot keep up with it,” Haakenson said. “It is almost impossible.”
The city’s annual $50,000 snow removal budget has been spent, so that fund will go over budget, officials said.
The last big snow storm to hit the city, in 1996, caused massive problems at the Port of Edmonds, where the marina roof collapsed.
The new roof is designed to slough off snow so the roof never collapses again, said Chris Keuss, the Port director.
What businesses could stay open were happy to, they said.
“We are open and ready for business,” said Jeff Boyer, an employee at Arista Wine Cellars on Fifth Avenue. “We have had a little blowing snow, but we have the holiday spirit in full swing.”
Reporter Chris Fyall: 425-673-6525 or cfyall@heraldnet.com
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