A report by Jessica Gsell:
All 11 winter service vehicles of the Füssen building yard are in use this morning. With the help of shovel loaders, the salt spreaders are filled at record speed and the loading areas of the clearing vehicles are weighted down with grit. I am allowed to sit in the cab of a MAN 14-ton truck with Erwin Hipp (50) and Andreas Heimlich (52). The two men work as a team in winter service. There are insurance reasons for this. “We don't have a reversing camera on our vehicle,” Hipp explains to me. That is why a second man is needed who can always keep an eye on the exterior and rear-view mirrors, especially when maneuvering.
Shortly after 4 o'clock we go out onto the snow-covered streets. First area of application: the south-west of Füssen. In the roundabout we turn several laps until the snow plow has cleared the entire lane there. Meanwhile, the dry salt is distributed with the spreader at the rear. “The earlier we go, the better,” Hipp explains to me, who is the first to sit behind the wheel. In the first residential area, it becomes clear to me immediately why starting work early makes it easier for winter service. No other vehicle is far and wide. With the 14-ton truck, Hipp can push the snow masses to the roadside with the help of its Schmidt snow plow and clear the intersection areas. There is already a lot of work being done away from the street. Again and again we meet building yard colleagues who use their narrow-gauge vehicles to clear the snow from the sidewalks. A total of 15 employees with machines and 12 foot teams are on duty in Füssen for winter service. "Each of us has his own route," says Hipp, who has been with the Füssen building yard for 17 years. In addition to areas of downtown Füssen, the mountain roads to Hopfen and Weißensee are also part of the tour of the two men. In the event of heavy snowfall, like that night, the main roads initially have top priority when clearing. The entire route takes around 4 hours to complete.
Operation at night is not always without dangers
The two building yard employees are happy that today is a completely normal weekday. Because especially on the nights from Saturday to Sunday - when the last drunken party-goers are still out and about in Füssen in the morning - the men have to be particularly careful. There is a discotheque not far from the building yard. "Then the youngsters jump out onto the street and in front of the vehicle," Heimlich told me with a shake of his head. But not only the drunk citizens are a source of danger for winter road clearance. We turn into Welfenstrasse. Here we meet a cyclist in the dark - barely recognizable in his black clothing and without lights. “When it snows, you can't even see them anymore,” the 52-year-old sums up the problem. We drive the snow plow street by street. One passage alone is almost always not enough. Since there is no oncoming traffic, Hipp can stay in the left lane constantly in streets with many cars parked on the right-hand side. In front of a dental practice, a caretaker is in the process of pushing the snow from the parking lots onto the street - additional work for the building yard squad. I notice that in some places someone must have been on the snow plow before us. That's right: The 27 men of the building yard are supported with 3 vehicles from outside companies during the winter service, who only take care of the main traffic routes. "Besides, they just clear up and don't scatter," explains Hipp. Therefore, the two of them still have to pass every street on their route.
Between the many parked cars on the next street we turn into, precision work is now the order of the day. "It's going ok. Fortunately, ”said Hipp with relief. Otherwise they would have had to notify their colleagues so that one of them would come with a smaller clearing vehicle. The longer it snows, the more the numerous parked cars - especially in residential areas - pose a problem for winter service drivers. Over time, the mountains of cleared snow on the edges of the road get higher and, above all, wider. The result: Since people continue to park on the side of the road, the cars there protrude more and more into the middle of the lane and thus prevent the large clearing machines from getting through at some point. It is not just the winter service that the citizens are blocking. “The cars should actually be parked in such a way that the escape route is kept clear,” the two men point out. Hipp directs the snow plow forward so that the mass of snow on the road is not pushed against the parked cars. Meanwhile, Heimlich keeps an eye on the side mirrors. And how often does it happen that you catch one of the side mirrors on the car? "It happens sometimes, but very rarely"
, assures Heimlich and immediately afterwards explains: “Actually only if we slide away with the vehicle.” The sad thing about it: “They assume that we did it on purpose,” says Hipp in a frustrated voice. "But we would never do something like that on purpose."
Complaints from the citizens frustrated the winter service workers
The two men maneuver their heavy machine through Füssen with extreme caution this morning. "We have to do it slowly so that we don't have to make the sidewalks," explains Hipp. But no matter how hard the winter service drivers try to get the snow off the road as quickly as possible and without hindering the citizens, they have to listen to complaints again and again or even allow them to be verbally abused. “There are those who call because we are vacating too early and complain about the noise. The others complain about the room being vacated too late, ”Hipp tells me. When driving past driveways, it has even happened to the two of them that local residents threw the snow shovel after them. The point of contention here is always the blocked entrances - in the opinion of many citizens, this is deliberate behavior on the part of the building yard employees. This topic is a sore point for Heimlich and Hipp. Not only because it is always the building yard's winter service drivers who hold citizens responsible for the snow in front of their driveways. And that, although janitorial services or other external companies are also on the road with broaching machines in Füssen. But above all because the men simply have no other choice the moment they push parts of the snow onto exits. Because everyone only clears their snow towards the edge of the road. Together with the parked cars, at some point it is impossible to always steer the MAN snow plow in the opposite direction of the entrances. "Where should we put the snow?" Asks Hipp rightly. “We can't charge it.” Only when it has worked for a few days in a row and the mountains are frozen on the road wheels does the building yard move in with a snow blower and truck to transport them away. “If it snows like this for two more days, then we'll come with the tiller,” they estimate. We turn. “It's a side street now, but this is the old people's home,” explains Hipp. There, too, they are cleared very early in the morning. “Because the employees come later and then we don't have a chance.” At all intersections, Hipp has to maneuver the 14-ton truck back and forth several times so that the largest possible area is cleared of snow. He finds a suitable place right on the edge where the white splendor does not get in the way. “Of course you have to be lucky that nobody is parking there,” says Heimlich of his colleague's work. “Everyone as they deserve,” jokes Hipp. Both have to laugh. You can tell that the two men have known each other for a long time. However, they have only been running winter service for two months. Since one employee has retired, the team has been redesigned. "Here we also make sure that it is safe to drive," says Hipp, as he comes to a stop in front of the Red Cross to clear the driveway.
The stressful time begins with the rush hour
We leave the southwest of Füssen. We continue towards Forggensee, along Weidachstrasse. "The colleague has already been helping hard," the two men note enthusiastically. Everyone has their prescribed route. Nevertheless, the employees of the Füssener Bauhof remain flexible: "If there's a fire somewhere, we of course also go somewhere else." In the meantime, it has started snowing again. Thick flakes spray non-stop on the windshield. At the beginning of the residential area Weidach we turn around again. The men would have their problems with the big 14-ton truck. That's why a colleague there takes care of the clearing with his smaller Unimog. It goes back to the south-west of Füssen. "Now we are in an area where it is getting even tighter," says Hipp and shortly afterwards lets his colleague Heimlich, who has been with the Füssen building yard for 12 years, behind the wheel. It is now 6 o'clock. The newscaster on the radio reports on the floods in the North and Baltic Seas. “Water is worse than snow,” Heimlich mumbles to himself. Rush hour traffic has started. The streets are noticeably more crowded. Now the two building yard employees have to be particularly careful. Because drivers keep coming towards them. Instead of letting the evacuation service pass first in tight spaces, many are pushing for their rights. Especially now the importance of the second man in the vehicle becomes clear. Heimlich is about to reverse at the intersection when Hipp draws his attention to a cyclist behind him. When it drove past, the 52-year-old pushes the newly fallen snow neatly to the side of the road.
There is a gap in the snow wall, but Heimlich leaves it free. It is the crossing aid for pedestrians that the employee who clears the sidewalk created, he explains to me. We pass the Red Cross. Hipp points to the drivers: “Now they are already starting to park. That's why we clear out here early in the morning. ”It gets really tight on Sonnenstrasse. The two men have added this route. Heimlich skilfully steers the heavy vehicle with a clearing width of 3.20 meters backwards into a narrow side street.
The citizens of Füssen are now also busy shoveling their driveways and forecourts. With a snow blower, a man gets to grips with the white splendor on the sidewalk. "That is really a rarity," praises Hipp. Because the man does not mill the snow in the direction of the street, but lets it snow into the adjacent gardens. “We mustn't forget the train station,” the 50-year-old reminds his colleague. The snow has now turned into sleet. “We're not leaving work so quickly today,” says Heimlich. As soon as winter has arrived in Füssen, the men are on the go non-stop and are on call overnight - seven days a week. If it snows without a break, your day starts shortly after 3 a.m. and ends with the last trip at 8 p.m. "I prefer it to snow in the evening," says Hipp. They would have on-call duty one way or another - but then they could be prepared for an early deployment in the evening. When doing this kind of job, isn't it at some point that you get fed up with the snow? Both deny that. "However, at some point you can no longer stand the ringing of your phone," says Hipp with a laugh. Heimlich pushes the snow masses to one side on the large area of the train station, lane by lane. No sooner has he cleared the adjacent bus stops than the first bus arrives. The driver thanks the two men with a hand greeting.
The winter service vehicle has already been around for 20 years
We continue to the old town of Füssen. The snow on the cobblestones turns the road there into a single slide. At the Kapellenberg it goes steeply upwards. With a push of a button on the control unit of the salt spreader, the men activate maximum spreading. A beep starts in the cab. Instead of the previous 17.5 and 30 grams, 100 grams of salt per square meter now falls on the floor. Next is one of the mountain routes. The colleague has already done preparatory work with his Unimog. “It doesn't have a spreader on it,” explain the men. Therefore they drive the route again. Back in the city center it goes through the narrow streets again. We are just passing the winding Klosterstrasse, when a car comes shooting around the corner. Both drivers have to brake suddenly. “Slow down a bit,” says Heimlich, annoyed. It's getting steeper and steeper. The 52-year-old is highly concentrated so that the MAN 14-ton truck doesn't slip away. The machine jerks and rattles. “That's the age,” says Hipp. After all, the vehicle has already been around for 20 years. “But it did a good job,” praises the 50-year-old as he lovingly caresses the dashboard of the machine. Especially when you consider all the vibrations the vehicle has to withstand, especially now in winter service, Hipp knows. Actually, the new MAN should have arrived at the building yard by New Year's Eve - as a replacement for the current machine. But the delivery date has been postponed to February. It is the last days of work for the old MAN. For a coffee break, we make a short stop in the building yard. It is already 8 o'clock. The coffee machine is right next to the car workshop. A building yard employee is treating the newest "patient" there, a wheel loader. Due to the constant load in winter service use, parts of the snow clearing strips are damaged and are now being replaced. While we are already in base camp, Hipp quickly takes a look into the salt container of the spreader. “It's only half full,” he notes. So Heimlich first refills grit with the wheel loader. Just recently, the Füssen building yard switched from a mixture of salt and grit to pure dry salt. In this way, tasks such as sweeping up and disposing of the gravel in the spring are no longer necessary.
The next part of the tour takes us out of Füssen, up to the Alatsee. Here the snow masses on the road are soon half a meter high. The clearing vehicle bravely fights its way through the white splendor. The wheels of the 14-tonner spin over and over again. Does it actually ever happen that the large vehicles get stuck? “Yes, that happens every now and then,” Heimlich confirms to me. However, it is more the narrow-gauge vehicles that you then have to free from the snow masses. After about 2 kilometers along Saloberstrasse, which leads through a forest area, we arrive at the parking lot of the lake. There is also a hotel with an adjoining restaurant. Since cars are parked everywhere and the space is generally quite cramped up here, it takes some time and several maneuvers before the supplier's approach to the hotel is cleared of snow. A short time later it becomes clear that the men have good timing. Because only a few minutes after our arrival, the grocery supplier comes up the street. Relief is written on the young driver's face. He also thanks the two men. "It has already happened on this route that we had to reverse it," says Hipp. In this way, it is then spread in the first place. The two building yard employees can still remember one night very clearly: “It was the worst here on New Year's Eve 11 years ago. There was freezing rain. "