A snowplow dry run through Seattle with Big Pete in the Big Pete

Snowplow drivers who work for Seattle’s Department of Transportation are out doing dry runs through the city, preparing for potential snow and ice this winter. The department says about 130 people will work to keep hundreds of miles of city streets clear.

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n a brisk, but dry, Tuesday morning, Peter Siegl climbs up into a 2020 Peterbilt 567 dump truck that stretches 36-feet long, not including the snowplow.

“I’ve been thinking about starting a podcast,” he says, “I’d call it, ‘Big Pete in the Big Pete.’”

There’s no snow to plow this day, but Siegl and other drivers are out running their routes to get ready for the winter season. They’re looking for any changes to the street like construction or new lanes.

“Roads are changing every day, every week, every month,” Siegl said. “Are there any steel plates in the road? There are new potholes. Have the lanes changed? Have they implemented new bike lanes?”

His route loops through Seattle’s SoDo neighborhood starting near the stadiums, heads down Airport Way South, west on Spokane Street, and up East Marginal Way South.

Siegl points out a row of parking that didn’t exist last winter and a few steel plates near some construction, noting them for when they might be covered in snow in a few weeks. Drivers also decide now if they’ll need a slightly smaller dump truck to squeeze between a row of cars and a new median strip.

SDOT says more than 130 people work to clear snow and ice from city streets during winter. Not every road can be plowed, a spokesperson said, but the department prioritizes major arterials and bus routes.

At only 30 years old, Siegl is right at home in the cockpit of the massive machine. He flicks switches, presses buttons, and commands the 10-ton beast. Siegl worked on these big rigs as a mechanic before driving them.

This will be his second winter plowing snow for SDOT.

Last year wasn’t bad, he said, but, “I wish we got a lot more snow. But we did have the ice storm, so we got at least a little bit of experience plowing.”

Forecasters at the National Weather Service in Seattle are expecting a slightly warmer, drier winter in Western Washington this year during El Niño.

If there is any snow in town, Siegl will be ready.

“I see the forecast and it says snow — I'm grabbing my go bag and I'm coming into work early,” he said. “I love it.”