When winter weather arrives, the Town of Brownsburg Street Department works around the clock to keep roads safe and passable. The Town’s snow removal policy calls for plow trucks to begin clearing streets once two inches of snow have accumulated, but preparations start long before that point. Each year, over 16,000 tons of salt are typically ordered for the season to keep roads safe.

Behind the scenes, Brownsburg’s plow drivers work long hours in challenging conditions, often starting shifts before dawn or working overnight during major storms, to ensure residents can travel safely.

Preparing for a Snow Event

The Street Department monitors both local and national weather forecasts to determine the right time to begin pre-treating roads. When snow is expected, crews apply anti-icing treatments to primary streets to help slow accumulation and reduce icy conditions.

However, pre-treatment isn’t always possible. If rain is expected to fall before the snow arrives, crews cannot anti-ice the roadways. The rain dilutes the solution, making it ineffective. In these cases, plowing and salting begin once conditions allow.

The Street Department has a fleet of 10 plow trucks and staff work around the clock from December to March to ensure safe streets. When weather demands, staff from other departments including Water Utilities, Parks, and Development Services, jump in to help.

Before salt even goes into the trucks, it is mixed with “beet juice”, an organic spray that helps the salt stick better and reduces its corrosiveness. Each plow carries about 12 tons of salt per route, which typically lasts a full route before reloading. Routes take around 4 hours, and crews often make multiple passes to ensure every lane is cleared.

How You Can Help

When snow is predicted, residents can make a big difference in the speed and efficiency of plowing:

• Move parked vehicles off the street whenever possible.
• Keep garbage containers, shoveled snow, and other obstacles out of the roadway.

Clear streets give plow drivers more room to operate safely and efficiently.

Snow Removal Priorities

Not all roads can be cleared at once. Brownsburg’s street network is divided into four priority levels to ensure the most critical routes are addressed first:

1. Primary Arterials

These major roadways include Green Street and Ronald Reagan Parkway (maintained by the Town) and U.S. 136 (maintained by INDOT). They receive top priority.

2. Collector Streets

These streets connect neighborhoods to major roadways and often provide access to schools and workplaces. They are plowed and salted once primary arterials are clear.

3. Local Streets

Neighborhood through-streets are treated after the collector streets have been addressed.

4. Courts and Alleys

These are the final areas to be plowed. Their smaller size and frequent obstructions make them some of the most challenging for crews.

Plow drivers work to clear an entire street before moving on to the next. While every effort is made to reduce the amount of snow pushed into driveways, some is unavoidable during normal plowing operations.

Parks & Trails Snow Removal

After priority roadways and neighborhoods are cleared, crews focus on parks facilities and trails, including roads, parking areas, walkways, and multi-use paths. Depending on the storm’s severity, it may take several days to fully clear trails.

Snow Removal Tips for Residents

A few simple habits can go a long way in helping snow operations run smoothly:

• Avoid parking vehicles on the street during snow events.
• Wait to clear your driveway until after the plow has passed.
• Never pile snow in the street. It creates dangerous conditions for drivers and pedestrians.
• During heavy storms, plows may make multiple passes. Keep this in mind when clearing your driveway or sidewalk.

When to Call the Street Department

Clearing streets across the entire community takes time, effort, and coordinated work from our Street Department crews. Your patience greatly supports this process.

If you believe your street was missed, please wait at least 24 hours after the storm has ended before contacting the Street Department. In most cases, crews are still actively clearing or making return passes.

If, while clearing snow, a truck damages your yard or mailbox, please contact the Street Department at (317) 852-1113 to schedule repairs. You may also send us a message. We will make repairs as soon as possible. This may mean that you may have a temporary mailbox until a suitable replacement can be installed, weather permitting.