When We Have Significant Amounts of Ice and/or Snow, Some Precautions are Appropriate:
- Keep a bucket of sand and a bag of rock salt on hand to treat your front steps and walk.
- Roads in Fearrington Village are cleared by the state, Fitch Creations and FHA are NOT responsible for clearing or treating Fearrington roads. The state gives priority to clearing main highways first, so patience will be necessary for the state secondary roads in the village.
- Small neighborhood HOAs (service groups) are responsible for maintaining their own streets and are, therefore, responsible for any winter storm clearing or treatment they may feel is necessary or advisable.
- To locate which village roads are state roads and which streets are maintained by which neighborhood service groups, see this streets and roads table.
- In most instances, residents should plan on having limited driving conditions and possibly slippery walking conditions for 12 - 48 hours following relatively rare instances of heavy snow and/or ice; conditions typically improve quickly within that time frame.
- Do not park your vehicle(s) on the edge of a state road during snow and ice clearing events (see the hot-linked table above to locate which village roads are state roads). The state will not plow or treat a village road that is strewn with parked vehicles making is difficult for their equipment operators.
- For emergency medical transportation and other emergency needs in such weather, contact 911.
Understanding NCDOT and Clearing Our 56 State-Owned Streets and Roads
As a result, North Carolina, with over 80,000 miles of state-maintained roads, has the largest state-maintained highway network in the United States. Statewide (as of 2014) NCDOT’s array of snow and ice clearing equipment includes more than 1,822 trucks equipped with plows and spreaders, 567 front-end loaders and backhoes, and 393 motor graders (one of which worked on our roads and streets after our last snow/ice storm). The department also outfits pick-up trucks with snowplows to clear less-traveled roads.
NCDOT is organized into 14 Highway Divisions. We are located in, and serviced by, NCDOT Division 08, which is responsible for maintaining 909 miles of hard-paved roads. Under state guidelines, the road crews with plowing equipment have up to 72 hours after the snow event ends to plow the secondary state roads, which are the majority of streets and roads in Fearrington Village.
During the two February 2015 ice and snow storms, NCDOT began to plow our state roads a day-and-half to two days following the end of the storms. Considering the enormous area they must cover in District 8, their attention to our roads was quick and was very appreciated.
We need to remember that no two snow and/or ice storms are the same and that each presents the crews with new blends of challenges, all of which affect when they can complete the job of clearing the roads of ice and snow.
