Philadelphia double-backs to move snow

The city of Philadelphia is pleased with round-two of its snow removal plan.

The city of Philadelphia is pleased with round-two of its snow removal plan.

Crews worked through the weekend to rid the city of snow that had been crippling neighborhoods. Mayor Michael Nutter says a second pass of the city streets was necessary because melting wasn’t happening quickly enough.

Mayor Nutter: Folks knew that we took care of the snow part of the snowstorm. The second snowstorm was more difficult than the first one in that it contained much more moisture, much more ice. We had ice frozen on the ground unlike the first big storm, and we needed to double back and have phase two.

The mayor says more than 90-percent of city streets are clear, many down to the blacktop. The city’s estimates snow removal costs this year could reach $15-million dollars, an amount that’s not in the budget in these difficult economic times.

Governor Ed Rendell says the state is applying for federal aid to help cities such as Philadelphia with the storm costs.