SHREWSBURY, Mass. - Snow preparation is a year-round responsibility for the Shrewsbury Department of Public Works.

"From the last snowfall of the previous year, we're preparing for the next one," said Nick Repekta, the town's Highway Division manager. "So, it gives us a little more time on the front end to make sure we're prepared for it. But we're going to treat it like any other snowfall."

Thursday, those preparations included loading sand into trucks and making sure their vehicles were up to par. Repekta said there will be 24 pieces of town equipment on the road come this weekend's forecasted snow.

"We have 154 center line miles of road, which equals about 320 or so lane miles," Repekta said. "And then we plow 25 miles of sidewalk. We plow 12 miles of private streets."

A few miles west in Holden, it's a similar story for their DPW crews, who have more than 120 miles of public roads they'll be tasked with cleaning.

"It takes us about two, to two and a half hours to do a salt route, and about two and a half to three hours to do a full plow route," said John Woodsmall, Holden's DPW director. "We do it all with in-house forces. We'll have 25 pieces of equipment out on the road during a storm."

Woodsmall said some light snow events in the late fall and early winter helped them get their fleet in order for the season. Heading into Saturday, he has a message: "Don't crowd the plow."

"Everybody has been talking about this storm for a couple days, it's not a surprise," Woodsmall said. "Go out, get your milk and bread on Saturday. Get your snacks and candies and everything that you need. Just give us time and we'll get the roads clear."

Woodsmall said he expects the duration of the snowfall to be on the longer side of things, so he's asking residents to be patient on Saturday, Sunday and into Monday.