St. Louis County Asks Rural Residents To Clear Snow From Mailboxes

It's been a rough winter - with both cold and snow.  That combination of elements has made snow removal difficult for many - with the daily task of clearing driveways and sidewalks.  Rural home owners have especially had a tough time as they are the chief responsible party for those chores - a task that can be exasperating considering the usual larger area that must be cleared.

One element of that snow removal process that can be easy to overlook is your mailbox.  Rural homeowners usually have a mailbox on a pole that is located alongside the road or highway.  From time to time, property owners will find their mailbox damaged by what they often believe is the snowplow hitting it. The St. Louis County Public Works Department offers that that is not typically the case;  according to public works officials, the damage is usually done by the windrow - the heavy snow that comes off the side of the plow blade as it goes by.

In order to combat the potential for damage from the extra volume of snow, the St. Louis County Public Works Department suggests clearing all of the snow away from a standing pole mailbox; that way when  the extra snow comes off the plow, it has the space it needs to land without damaging the mailbox.

Highway Division Superintendent Gordy Halvorson offers:

With as much snow as we've seen already this winter, everybody's in the same boat - trying to figure out where to put the snow.  Our crews are doing the best they can to plow 3,000 miles of roads to keep them safe and driveable.  Homeowners need to remember that they are responsible for shoveling around their mailbox.