JBM-HH battles first winter storms

Photo By Rachel Larue | Grave stones with wreaths, laid by Wreaths Across America volunteers, sit under a fresh blanket of snow in Arlington National Cemetery, Arlington, Va., Jan. 6, 2015. The storm, which dropped 3 to 4 inches of snow in the Washington metro area, was the first major winter storm of the season. (Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall PAO photo by Rachel Larue)  

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA, UNITED STATES

01.15.2015

Story by Jim Dresbach 

Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Less than a month after the official beginning of winter, Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s Directorate of Public Works has taken on two winter weather events in less than a week.

While the District of Columbia and northern Virginia slipped and slid to work during a snowy Jan. 6 morning commute, DPW’s Operations and Maintenance division combated the surprising storm, which was originally forecasted to drop anywhere from a coating to 1 inch of snow. By mid-day, 3 to 4 inches of frozen precipitation had fallen on the 9.3 miles of Fort Myer, Henderson Hall and Fort McNair avenues and roads.

“We were blindsided because they [The National Weather Service] predicted one to two [inches],” JBM-HH DPW Base Operations and Maintenance Chief Denise Faldowski said. “We were taken by surprise because we didn’t anticipate [this snow]. [We thought] this was a very small event. At one point, a trace amount [was forecasted]. But we were here, and we were moving. It hit during [morning] rush hour, which we already had our people here. We were able to react.”

DPW road crews began the day before the storm with pretreatment of joint base roads, and workers were in place at 4 a.m. – at least an hour before the first flakes fell. According to Faldowski and Tony Taylor, DPW Operations and Maintenance branch chief, the snow and ice removal work was ongoing and lasted until Jan. 8 due to blowing snow and the refreezing of roads and sidewalks.

“On [Jan. 8], they were in early to do parking lots which weren’t cleared,” Taylor said of the ongoing snow removal.

In all, 30 DPW workers were assigned for plowing Jan. 6, and up to 44 DPW grounds contractors removed snow and ice from joint base pedestrian thoroughfares.

“They worked 24 hours straight to do the sidewalks,” Faldowski said of the contractors’ work.

For the anticipated Jan. 12 ice storm, DPW used a proactive approach by pretreating commissary and Cody Child Development Center parking lots before vehicles entered JBM-HH. Roads were also pretreated on the Fort Myer, Henderson Hall and Fort McNair portions of the joint base starting Jan. 9. According to Faldowski, the OMD team and the contractors arrived at 2 a.m. Jan. 12 and applied minimal salt to sidewalks and icy areas before 6:00 a.m.

During a Jan. 8 interview with the Pentagram, Faldowski and Taylor emphasized that JBM-HH residents and workers are encouraged to bring empty ice melt buckets to Building 325 on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall or to the P Street lot on the Fort McNair portion of the joint base between the hours of 1 and 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. They also asked that residential roads like Lee Avenue and Sheridan Road and Fort McNair’s 2nd and 4th Avenues be clear of vehicles prior to any approaching winter storm.

• Date Taken: 01.15.2015
• Date Posted: 01.15.2015 14:06
• Story ID: 152074
• Location: JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, VA, US