Anchorage, Alaska (KTUU) – Parts of downtown Anchorage are still rough. Bronson’s spokesperson, Hans Lodvik, said the city had hoped to remove all of the downtown roads sooner, but is having trouble finding contractors to remove the snow.
“We’ve had a sort of trucking crisis,” says Rodvik. “There are a lot of people who have retired in the last few years. Covid, people moving south, whatever the case, we are trying to find people who can help us.”
Meanwhile, snow piles are growing, especially near the curbs. Downtown businesses complain that customers find it difficult to find street parking.
Hannah Schruf owns a women’s clothing boutique called Weather near 7th Avenue and D Street. She said the lack of snow removal has definitely kept her customers away during times when she should be busy.
“It should be holiday shopping. People think they look forward to going out,” says Schruf. “And you’ll see people who happen to drive down the road, see a snowman, and keep going.”
While the city is doing what it can, it has decided to suspend snow removal and clearing downtown Wednesday night. plans to invest in larger urban road extensions.
Work resumed Thursday night, and the city expects some new trucks to hit the roads to haul snow. He added that the city is still looking for people to help.
“If you know someone with a dump truck, call the street maintenance guy,” Rodvik said. “We love their help.”
“We’re going to put them in touch with the snow hauling contractor downtown and put them to work,” he said.
He said the current plan is to clean up downtown on Friday evening.
If you are interested in helping with snow removal, please call Street Maintenance at 907-343-8277.
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