Will Durham Plow My Street? How City and NCDOT Roads Get Cleared, and Which Ones Don't

By Kendrick Hunter, owner of Hunter Excavating in Durham, NC.

Short version: it depends on who owns your street. Inside Durham city limits, the city clears bridges and major roads first and plows residential streets only after every primary and secondary street is done, so a neighborhood street can wait several days after a real snow. Interstates, freeways and other state roads belong to NCDOT, and so does nearly every public road outside city limits, because North Carolina counties don't maintain roads.

Private roads, including some HOA streets and most shared gravel lanes, don't get plowed by anyone public. Neither the city nor NCDOT clears driveways, parking lots or sidewalks.

Start with who owns your street

Every public road in Durham belongs to either the City of Durham or the North Carolina Department of Transportation, and anything else is private. Which of those you live on decides who plows it and when.

A Durham mailing address won't tell you. Plenty of homes with a Durham address sit outside city limits, out in the county. Inside the city, most neighborhood streets are city streets, though some major routes are state roads. Outside city limits, a public road is an NCDOT road, because North Carolina counties don't maintain roads at all. If neither the city nor the state maintains your street, it's private.

To check, look your street up on NCDOT's Public Street Information Database Map, which shows who owns and maintains roads across the state. A state road number, written as SR and four digits, also means NCDOT, and you'll often see it on street signs out in the county. Some residential streets are maintained by the state without an obvious number, though, so the map is the better test.

How the City of Durham clears its streets

When winter weather is forecast, the city's Street Maintenance division mounts salt spreaders and plows on more than 25 trucks, and up to 100 employees work around the clock in 12-hour shifts. Ahead of a forecast snow, crews spray brine on major thoroughfares, bridges and overpasses 24 to 48 hours ahead.

Once snow or freezing rain starts, bridges and overpasses get salt first, then the primary streets. Plowing starts when an inch or more has fallen. Primary streets are the emergency routes and major thoroughfares, such as Roxboro Street, Cornwallis Road, Fayetteville Street and NC 55. Under the city's snow removal plan, residential streets are plowed only after all primary and secondary streets have been cleared.

After the precipitation ends, the city's goal is to have 75 percent of primary streets at bare pavement within 48 hours and 50 percent of secondary streets within 72 hours, depending on how much fell and how cold it stays. Residential streets come after that. In a storm with several inches of snow and a hard freeze behind it, a neighborhood street can easily wait three days or more.

How NCDOT clears state roads

NCDOT works from the biggest roads down. Interstates and four-lane highways come first, then primary and secondary roads. In Durham, that puts I-85, I-40 and the Durham Freeway ahead of the two-lane state roads in the county, like the ones out toward Bahama and Rougemont. Unpaved state roads are usually last.

Before a storm, NCDOT pre-treats interstates, highways and busy secondary roads with brine, and once it hits, crews work in shifts until every state-maintained road is clear. Its crews also remove trees and debris that fall across state roads. They don't clear driveways or sidewalks.

The roads nobody public plows

The city and the state don't plow private roads. That covers HOA streets that were never turned over to the city or NCDOT, streets in a new subdivision that haven't been formally accepted yet, shared gravel lanes, and long private drives. Clearing them falls to the HOA or the owners who share the road. In an HOA, the covenants or a road maintenance agreement usually say who pays.

If that's your road, line someone up before the forecast turns. Gravel needs a plow set up for it, with the blade high enough to move snow without pulling up stone. We plow gravel drives and private roads in winter and build gravel driveways the rest of the year.

What the city plow leaves at the end of your driveway

When a city plow comes through, snow piles up along the curb and across driveway entrances. The city says its crews can't remove it from residential or commercial driveway entrances, parking lots or sidewalks, because that would slow the whole operation down. Shovel that ridge into your yard or near the curb. Snow thrown back into the street just gets pushed into your driveway again on the next pass.

That ridge has been packed by the plow, so it's heavier and icier than the snow in the rest of your driveway. If you can wait, clear the apron after the plow has made its pass. The city also asks property owners not to push snow from driveways or parking lots into city streets.

If a city plow damaged your mailbox, call Durham One Call at 919-560-1200 or file a request online. The city investigates, and if a plow caused the damage, it fixes the mailbox.

During a storm, the city asks residents to park on side streets so primary and secondary streets stay open, and it tows vehicles that are double-parked or abandoned in travel lanes.

Who to call

• For a city street, call Durham One Call at 919-560-1200.

• For a state road, call NCDOT customer service at 1-877-368-4968 (1-877-DOT-4YOU), weekdays from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., or use the contact form on ncdot.gov. DriveNC.gov has current road conditions.

• For anything dangerous, call 911.

• A tree down across your driveway or a private road is yours to clear, and our tree removal crew handles storm cleanup.

• For a driveway, a private road or a parking lot, you need a private contractor.

Elsewhere in the Triangle

Each town plows its own streets on its own priorities, so in Raleigh, Cary or Chapel Hill, check that town's plan. Outside town limits, the rule is the same everywhere in North Carolina: public roads are NCDOT's, and everything else is private.

Questions about Durham snow plowing

Does the City of Durham plow residential streets?

Yes, after all primary and secondary streets have been cleared.

How long will it take to plow my street?

The city doesn't set a time for residential streets. Its goals are 75 percent of primary streets at bare pavement within 48 hours after the precipitation ends, and 50 percent of secondary streets within 72 hours. Residential streets come after those.

Will the city or NCDOT clear my driveway or sidewalk?

No. Neither one clears driveways, sidewalks or parking lots.

Who plows roads outside Durham city limits?

NCDOT plows the state roads, and private roads are up to the owners or the HOA. Durham County doesn't maintain roads.

Does the city plow when less than an inch falls?

Crews salt bridges, overpasses and primary streets first. Plowing starts at an inch or more.

Can I push the snow from my driveway into the street?

The city asks you not to. Put it in your yard or near the curb.

Get your driveway or private road on our list

We plow and salt driveways, private roads, HOA streets and parking lots across Durham and Durham County and around the Triangle. If your road is one nobody public plows, or you need the driveway and walks open before the city reaches your street, see our page on snow removal for Durham driveways and private roads, call (336) 988-7585, or request a free quote.

Hunter Excavating

1904 Front St, Suite 410, Durham, NC 27705

(336) 988-7585