Reinaldo Gets Started On Hercules

With the help of Bruce Springsteen, two cups of coffee and a turkey burger, Reinaldo Rivas pushed through a 15-hour shift preparing for Winter Storm Hercules.

“This is nothing,” he said as the first plows of the evening began to clear the streets.

Rivas (pictured) made the remark as he neared the end of a 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. shift Thursday driving a Department of Public Works truck through city streets to prepare for the storm, which was expected to dump up to as much as a foot of snow. Rivas’ was one of 22 public works trucks wielding snow plows through the night Thursday.

The city employed a full team of 40 snow plows, including 15 from private contractors, to prepare and clean the streets, according to deputy emergency management chief Rick Fontana.

By 8:30 p.m., the snow had accumulated enough to drop the plows.

Rivas, who’s 56, is one of the most veteran employees of the public works department. He has been plowing New Haven streets for 26 years.

“This ain’t my first rodeo,” he said as he turned onto Whitney Avenue, plow to the ground, at a quarter to 9 p.m.

The radio was tuned to The River 105.9 FM, which provided a fitting anthem for the evening: ​“Working on the Highway” by Bruce Springsteen.

He relies on The River to help him through the first of what promised to be several long days.

Rivas had left his home in West Haven before sunrise, carrying a lunch that his wife made for him. He reported for duty at 7 a.m. along with his son, Rafael, who also plows streets for the city. Rivas picked up his Ford Sterling dump truck, which he has decorated with a Jesus key chain and a small flag from Puerto Rico, where he was born. 

He spent the day sprinkling a treated salt mixture over his route, which encompasses East Rock from Edwards to Grove and State to Whitney, as well as the Wooster Square neighborhood. He estimated he poured out half a truck’s worth of material over the roads.

At 9 p.m., the light but steady snow had built up over an inch of snow on the ground. Rivas took a pass through Wooster Square.

“I’ve seen a few storms in my life,” he said. ​“This is nothing.”

He said when he started driving the snow plow at age 30, it felt exciting. Now it feels more routine.

“You get tired going around in circles,” he said. He said he is four years away from retirement and looking forward to it.

Boom! went the plow halfway down William Street.

“That’s a manhole,” he said. ​“That’ll wake you up.”

He was going only 7 miles per hour, so the collision didn’t cause any damage. He said he tries to remember where the manholes are, but some of them sneak up unexpectedly, hidden in the snow.

Midway through his Wooster Square circuit, a call came on the radio. There was a crack in the Church Street Bridge that runs from Union Avenue to Sargent Drive. Rivas went over to check it out.

On the way past the C. Cowles and Company Factory, Rivas noted that he didn’t need to use his plow: The strong wind had swept all of the snow off of Chestnut Street.

Driving over the Church Street Bridge, Rivas peered out the window and raised his eyebrows. He could see all the way down to the train tracks below. ​“It’s a long way down,” he said. 

He circled back to the scene and met supervisor Richie Christiansen.

They theorized that a plow might have hit a rubber piece that connects two sections of the bridge. The rubber appeared to have dropped through to the tracks below.

Christiansen put down protective cones so that the next plow didn’t get stuck in the gap.

Rivas headed back through State Street, nearing the end of his 15-hour shift. The air was getting so cold that his windshield wipers were struggling to keep off the ice. He was asked what keeps him going through the long hours. ​“I get out and stretch my legs” a couple of times, he said. He stopped once for lunch — a turkey burger, with no bun, prepared by his wife, and some fruit. For dinner, he headed to KFC on Route 80. The fried chicken was not so good, he said.

He said he usually gets through the day with two cups of coffee — and many doses of classic rock. He listened for his favorite singer, Bon Jovi, Thursday, but didn’t hear his voice all day. Within one hour Thursday, he did hear two Springsteen songs. ​“Dancing in the Dark” came on right around 9:30.

“I ain’t nothin’ but tired,” sang The Boss as Rivas headed back to the public works headquarters to return his truck.

Rivas headed home to catch as much sleep as he could before his next shift, which would start at 5 a.m.

Harp’s New Crew Readies Storm Response

On its first day on the job, New Haven’s Harp administration declared an overnight downtown parking ban and readied extensive plans to tackle a potentially dangerous mix of sub-freezing temperatures, high winds, and up to a foot of snow.

The planning took place as officials gathered in the underground Emergency Operations Center on Orange Street at 1 p.m. Thursday and as Winter Storm Hercules prepared to hit the city with full force in evening hours.

The storm poses first operational test for the administration of Mayor Toni Harp, who was sworn into office on Wednesday.

Forecasters predicted up to a foot of snow may fall on the city by Friday morning. The storm was expected to start coming full force around rush hour.

That’s nothing compared to last winter’s Snowmaggedon, which paralyzed New Haven with 34 inches of the white stuff. But two other factors could amplify Hercules’ potential harm: Wind-chill temperatures as low as 5 to 10 degrees below zero, and winds whipping at up to 30 miles per hour.

Parking will be banned on downtown streets from midnight to 6 a.m. overnight. People can park for free at the Temple Street garage starting at 7 p.m. Thursday and leave their cars there until 10 a.m. Saturday. A Friday evening automated phone call announced that parking is also banned on posted snow routes and on the odd side of residential streets.

For recorded storm updates, call 203 – 946-SNOW.

Deputy emergency management chief Fontana (pictured) said tides could rise as much as three feet higher than usual, prompting concern about flooding, especially on the east side of town.

Public works chief Doug Arndt also expressed concern about the effectiveness of salt to melt ice once the temperature dips below 22 degrees. He said the city will try using special treated salt. He also said a full complement of city and contracted plows will be out clearing streets.

Fontana announced a ​“partial” opening of the emergency center through the storm, with the capacity to go full tilt if conditions prove worse than anticipated.

“We’re not looking at it as a disaster scenario. We’re looking at it as a major storm,” Fontana said.

Jennifer Pugh, the city’s new acting Chief Administrative Officer, presided over the briefing.

Officials asked people in the neighborhoods to park only on the even side of the street between midnight and 6 a.m. Also, observe posted emergency no-parking signs along snow routes.

Homeless shelters will post extra staff and have extra food on hand during the day Friday to enable homeless people to stay indoors, Acting Community Services Administrator Ron Manning (pictured) reported.

As of 1 p.m. Connecticut Transit had not announced any cuts in service, although Peter Pan is suspending express bus routes to Hartford and Willimantic Thursday night and Friday morning, according to Jim Travers, the city’s transit chief until Monday. The last Tweed New Haven flight is scheduled to leave at 6:36 p.m.; subsequent flights are canceled tonight and are expected to be tomorrow morning.

Meanwhile, the Livable City Initiative (LCI) will have workers out helping people endangered by the cold. It has a ​“limited number” of space heaters to distribute as well as 20 to 25 rooms available to relocate people at the Three Judges and Econolodge motel, according to agency chief Erik Johnson.

The health department issued warnings against using kerosene heaters or your stove to heat your home. Click here and here for more cold-safety and snow-removal health tips. The United Way issued information about storm resources available.

Rebecca Bombero was doing double duty Thursday — handling online public storm communications and preparing to deal with fallen trees and other problems in her capacity as the new city acting parks chief.

Paul Bass contributed reporting.